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1422868

	registered interest
	date	18/02/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the level of financial support available for families with funeral costs.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	124961
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits.</p><p><br> The scheme meets the necessary costs of a burial or cremation in full and offers up to £1000 to meet other funeral expenses such as, the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees. In April 2020, we increased the maximum amount families can claim for these additional costs by 43%, from £700 to £1000, providing vital financial support to families grieving the loss of a loved one.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 28/02/2022 14:19:41 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1422870

	registered interest
	date	18/02/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of extending the Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria to include low-income families, in addition to those receiving means-tested benefits or tax credits.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	124962
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) scheme provides an important contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by someone who is in receipt of certain income related benefits or tax credits. The financial assistance offered through the FEP scheme is closely targeted at those who need it most.</p><p><br> The Government has no plans to extend the Funeral Expenses Payment eligibility criteria. <br> <br></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 28/02/2022 14:20:46 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1422871

	registered interest
	date	18/02/2022
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for Funeral Expenses Payment were (a) made and (b) successful in each month since February 2021.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	124963
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/02/2022 answer text <p>The number of Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) applications received and awards made, since February 2021 up until January 2022, is provided in the table below, for England and Wales.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications received</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Awards</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2021</p></td><td><p>4,853</p></td><td><p>2,449*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2021</p></td><td><p>4,763</p></td><td><p>3,790</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2021</p></td><td><p>3,392</p></td><td><p>2,976</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2021</p></td><td><p>2,834</p></td><td><p>1,957</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2021</p></td><td><p>3,368</p></td><td><p>1,912</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2021</p></td><td><p>2,873</p></td><td><p>2,055</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2021</p></td><td><p>3,178</p></td><td><p>1,854</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2021</p></td><td><p>3,454</p></td><td><p>2,515</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2021</p></td><td><p>3,124</p></td><td><p>2,114</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2021</p></td><td><p>3,309</p></td><td><p>2,184</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2021</p></td><td><p>2,749</p></td><td><p>1,801</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2022</p></td><td><p>3,098</p></td><td><p>1,719</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>FEP data sourced from the DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System (PBMIS). *The FEP award figure for February 2021 is an estimate using unaudited internal DWP figures on the number of FEP loans, as this could not be sourced from the PBMIS data for February 2021.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 28/02/2022 14:12:47 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1342513

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the rules governing eligibility for the Funeral Expenses Payment to provide discretion for another close family member to be granted the payment in circumstances where the partner of the deceased is unable or unwilling to take responsibility for a funeral.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
	tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
	uin	24950
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2021 answer text <p>There are no current plans to amend the eligibility criteria for Funeral Expenses Payment.</p><p>To receive support through the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme, a person must be in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit and be the person responsible for making the funeral arrangements. In cases where the deceased has a surviving partner, they are considered to be the responsible person. Where there is no surviving partner or the surviving partner was estranged from the deceased at the time of death, an immediate family member (parent or child), a close relative or a close friend may be considered for help through the scheme.</p><p>Where the surviving partner of the deceased was not estranged but is unable to act on their own behalf, a person, or a body of people, may apply to act on their behalf as an appointee. If a surviving partner is able to act on their own behalf and but is not estranged or willing to take responsibility for the funeral arrangements, a Funeral Expenses Payment cannot be awarded to another family member. They could, however, apply for a Budgeting Loan or a Universal Credit Budgeting Advance to help pay towards the cost of a funeral, if they meet the eligibility criteria.</p><p>In certain circumstances, Public Health funerals are provided by local authorities.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 07/07/2021 10:28:37 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield

1307072

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 162619, o Funeral Payments, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the rejection of 47 per cent of applications for the funeral expenses payment in January 2021.
	tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
	tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
	uin	178930
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>In reference to the Answer of 8<sup>th</sup> March 2021 to Question 162619, the following figures were included: In January 2021 there were 3,890 Funeral Expenses Payment applications received, and 2,050 awards paid.</p><p> </p><p>Reasons for this discrepancy are below:</p><ul><li>The figures relate to applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li><li>Applications received aren’t always processed in the same month in which they are received. The clearance standards for average actuals clearance times for Funeral Expenses Payments are 13 days. An application made in January 2021 might not have been awarded until February 2021.</li><li>The number of applications made is not equal to the number of people who made applications, as individuals may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li><li>Differences between any comparisons made of applications received, initial decisions, awards and initial refusals are due to applications being withdrawn; applicants rejecting or not responding to loan offers; and decisions outstanding at the time of the count.</li></ul><p> </p><p>We publish application success rate in Annex 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report. The latest available is the 2018/19 report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2018-to-2019/social-fund-annual-report-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2018-to-2019/social-fund-annual-report-2018-to-2019</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 19/04/2021 12:26:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1304314

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 162619, what plans she has to improve (a) awareness of and (b) access to the funeral expenses payment scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	172096
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>We regularly review and take action to improve the awareness and accessibility of the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme, working with a range of stakeholders.</p><p>This includes refreshing the ‘Get help with funeral costs’ information on GOV.UK. We have also revised the Department leaflet ‘What to do when someone dies’ to provide a clear step-by-step guide that signposts to available financial support including Funeral Expenses Payment. This has been shared extensively. We also plan to attend a number of funeral industry events in 2021 to raise awareness and understanding of the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme.</p><p> </p><p>We have taken steps to improve access to the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme. The Bereavement Service helpline operates a Freephone service to report a death and to initiate a Funeral Expenses Payment claim. The Department has worked closely with voluntary groups, hospitals, Registrars and Funeral Directors to ensure that the bereaved are signposted to the helpline for further support. Funeral Directors are able to submit evidence electronically to support a Funeral Expenses Payment claim and we continue to work on identifying a secure digital solution to extend this option to applicants.</p><p>Telephone: 0800 731 0469<br>Welsh language: 0800 731 0453</p><p>Textphone: 0800 731 0464<br>Welsh language: 0800 731 0456</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 26/03/2021 13:58:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1299184

	registered interest
	date	03/03/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claims for funeral expenses payment were (a) made and (b) successful in each month since March 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Feltham and Heston
	tabling member printed	Seema Malhotra
	uin	162619
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2021 answer text <p>The number of Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) applications received, and awards, for each month since March 2019 is provided in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>FEP devolved to Scotland on 16 September 2019. From this date FEP is only awarded in England and Wales. Therefore, the figures report on Great Britain up to 16 September 2019, and on England and Wales from that date onwards.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="3"><p><strong>Number of Funeral Expenses Payments applications received, and awards, 1 March 2019 to 31 January 2021</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Applications Received</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Awards</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>3,620</p></td><td><p>2,510</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>3,410</p></td><td><p>2,090</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>3,730</p></td><td><p>2,080</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>2,730</p></td><td><p>1,790</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2019</p></td><td><p>3,020</p></td><td><p>1,790</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2019</p></td><td><p>2,960</p></td><td><p>1,910</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2019</p></td><td><p>2,710</p></td><td><p>1,860</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2019</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>2,480</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2019</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td><p>2,550</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2019</p></td><td><p>2,580</p></td><td><p>1,510</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2020</p></td><td><p>2,730</p></td><td><p>1,270</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2020</p></td><td><p>3,910</p></td><td><p>1,270</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2020</p></td><td><p>3,660</p></td><td><p>1,330</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2020</p></td><td><p>2,790</p></td><td><p>2,920</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2020</p></td><td><p>5,880</p></td><td><p>4,420</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2020</p></td><td><p>4,760</p></td><td><p>4,480</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2020</p></td><td><p>3,850</p></td><td><p>3,090</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2020</p></td><td><p>3,100</p></td><td><p>2,040</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2020</p></td><td><p>3,520</p></td><td><p>2,360</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2020</p></td><td><p>3,450</p></td><td><p>2,220</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2020</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>2,370</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2020</p></td><td><p>3,060</p></td><td><p>1,830</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2021</p></td><td><p>3,890</p></td><td><p>2,050</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 08/03/2021 16:34:25 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4253 label Biography information for Seema Malhotra

1288870

	registered interest
	date	23/02/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will increase the capped portion of the social fund funeral expenses payment.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	157318
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2021 answer text <p>On the 8 April 2020, the value of the capped portion of the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment rose by 43 per cent, from £700 to £1000. There are no current plans to increase this.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 26/02/2021 14:50:30 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1283626

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for social fund funeral expenses payments her Department has received since April 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	148937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>In the period 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020, there were approximately 34,000 applications received for Funeral Expenses Payments, in England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>This figure is drawn from the Social Fund Policy, Budget, and Management Information System. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/02/2021 14:48:09 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1283628

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2021
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Funeral Payments
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for social fund funeral expenses her Department has approved since April 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	148938
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2021 answer text <p>In the period 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020, there were approximately 25,800 applications awarded for Funeral Expenses Payments, in England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>This figure is an estimate using unaudited internal DWP figures on the number of FEP loans. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 11/02/2021 13:57:17 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson