ABSTRACT
Making it Better? The Impact of Reform Sharon Collard
Introduction
The Budgeting Loan (BL) scheme was set up in 1988, following a major review of social security provision, to replace the single payments system that had previously been available to claimants of Supplementary Benefit. It was the latest in a series of government measures that aimed to help people on basic means-tested benefits rneet the lump sum needs which they might not be able to afford out of their weekly benefit (Kempson et al, 1994). As such, it was not designed to provide a source of low-cost credit for people without access to mainstream sources, but was rather an advance on benefit income that had to be repaid.
