ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses upon the introduction of SF loans as one of the consequence of the Fowler Reviews of social security. The Fowler Reviews began in 1983 and culminated in the introduction of the Social Security Act 1986. It explores the antecedents and aims of the Supplementary Benefit Review (SBR), one of four examinations of various parts of the social security system that together made up the Fowler Reviews. The chapter examines the approach of the SBR team to special expenses. While much of the debate about special expenses during the SBR focused upon issues of principle related to all three of these payments, our particular focus is upon SPs and UNPs that predominantly in the case of the former and wholly in the case of the latter were replaced by loans in the discretionary SF.
