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1005853

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2018
	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 her Department's policy is on supporting benefit claimants who must pay for the funeral of a family member; and if her Department will introduce an allowance for benefit claimants who must pay for the funeral of a family member to ensure that their benefit claims are not adversely affected.
	tabling member constituency	Motherwell and Wishaw
	tabling member printed	Marion Fellows
	uin	190493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/11/2018 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment scheme makes a contribution towards the cost of a funeral for people in receipt of certain income related benefits and tax credits. To qualify, the applicant must be accepted as responsible for arranging the funeral, they (or their partner) must receive one of the qualifying benefits and they must be the partner or a close relative or close friend of the deceased.</p><p> </p><p>The amount payable depends on whether there is any other money available, for example from the deceased’s estate. As the Payment is linked to the deceased’s assets, it does not adversely affect the applicant’s savings.</p><p> </p><p>The scheme offers support by meeting the ‘necessary costs’ of a cremation or burial, including acquiring a burial plot. An allowance of up to £700 is also available to meet other funeral costs such as a coffin, religious venue and funeral director fees.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 15/11/2018 09:55:33 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4440 label Biography information for Marion Fellows

1128289

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	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 funeral expenses payment awards were made in 2018-19; and (ii) what the value of those payments was.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South
	tabling member printed	Stewart Malcolm McDonald
	uin	257550
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The number and gross expenditure of Funeral Expenses Payment awards, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p>The information requested for 2018/19 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 05/06/2019 13:05:33 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	4461 label Biography information for Stewart Malcolm McDonald

1135888

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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 long on average it takes to (a) agree and (b) allocate the Social Fund funerals expense payment.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	271339
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>On average, it takes The Department for Work &amp; Pensions 2-3 weeks to process a Social Fund Funeral Payment from the point of claim, to the decision maker determining whether entitlement exists. In the instances when entitlement exists, it then takes an additional 3-5 working days for the payment to credit to either the Funeral Director’s or claimant’s bank account.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 04/07/2019 14:46:16 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1136078

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2019
	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 plans she has to increase (a) knowledge of, (b) access to and (c) take-up of social fund funeral payments.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	271352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/07/2019 answer text <p>My officials regularly engage with funeral and bereavement stakeholders to help them build awareness of the support available</p><p> </p><p>In August 2018, the GOV.UK website was updated with a step-by-step guide about to do after someone has died, including arranging a funeral and applying for a Funeral Expenses Payments.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is currently updating the leaflet that registrars give to people registering deaths. The revised version will include details of Funeral Expense Payments, and direct people to the GOV.UK step-by-step guide. DWP staff can also provide this information over the phone or in Jobcentres.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince grouped question UIN 271340 question first answered 04/07/2019 13:27:45 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1136197

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	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 plans she has to ensure that the Social Fund Funeral Payments meet the costs of cremation.
	tabling member constituency	Stroud
	tabling member printed	Dr David Drew
	uin	272119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments scheme, provides a significant contribution towards funeral costs for claimants in receipt of a qualifying benefit. It continues to meet the legislated necessary costs of a cremation, with the amount of the average award increasing year-on-year to meet these costs. It also provides up to £700 towards other costs, such as flowers, coffin and funeral director fees.</p> answering member constituency Colchester answering member printed Will Quince question first answered 09/07/2019 14:37:06 answering member 4423 label Biography information for Will Quince
	tabling member	252 label Biography information for Dr David Drew

1198552

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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 Payments there have been in each of the last 10 weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
	uin	51936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>The number of Funeral Expenses payment claims in England and Wales is provided in the table below.</p><p /><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Number of Funeral Expenses Payments claims received, w/c 23/03/20 to w/c 25/05/20</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Week Commencing</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of Claims</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>23/03/2020</p></td><td><p>310</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30/03/2020</p></td><td><p>410</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>06/04/2020</p></td><td><p>350</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13/04/2020</p></td><td><p>440</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>20/04/2020</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>27/04/2020</p></td><td><p>940</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>04/05/2020</p></td><td><p>1,480</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11/05/2020</p></td><td><p>1,470</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>18/05/2020</p></td><td><p>1,290</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>25/05/2020</p></td><td><p>1,040</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Notes:</p><ol><li>The number of claims have been rounded to the nearest 10.</li><li>The information provided is Management Information. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.</li></ol> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/06/2020 15:58:53 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1198555

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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 and what proportion of claims for funeral expenses payments were awarded payments in each of the last 10 weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
	uin	51937
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Funeral Expenses Payments make an important contribution towards the costs of a funeral for claimants on certain benefits or tax credits or a Support for Mortgage Interest loan and we have continued to make these payments throughout the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>However, the data requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/06/2020 13:18:41 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1198556

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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 the (a) average payment and (b) total value of payments awarded to successful Funeral Expenses Payment claimants were in each of the last 10 weeks.
	tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
	uin	51938
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>Funeral Expenses Payments make an important contribution towards the costs of a funeral for claimants on certain benefits or tax credits or a Support for Mortgage Interest loan and we have continued to make these payments throughout the pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>However, the data requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/06/2020 13:27:57 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1198557

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2020
	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 plans she has to amend the eligibility criteria for Funeral Expenses Payment claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Stalybridge and Hyde
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Reynolds
	uin	51939
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2020 answer text <p>There are no current plans to amend the eligibility criteria for the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme, which is for those in receipt of qualifying means-tested benefits or tax credits.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 10/06/2020 13:32:09 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4119 label Biography information for Jonathan Reynolds

1247044

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 effect the 2018 reforms to the Social Fund’s funeral expenses payments scheme have had on the processing times for payments under that scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109490
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2020 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Amendment Regulations came into force in spring 2018. Whilst data is not collated on the specific effects of these reforms, data on processing times and the number of claims accepted can be found in The Social Fund Annual Report 2018/19 which was published on GOV.UK on 4 November 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 109491 question first answered 06/11/2020 11:49:17 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247046

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 effect the 2018 reforms to the Social Fund’s funeral expenses payments scheme have had on the number of claims (a) accepted and (b) rejected under that scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109491
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2020 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Amendment Regulations came into force in spring 2018. Whilst data is not collated on the specific effects of these reforms, data on processing times and the number of claims accepted can be found in The Social Fund Annual Report 2018/19 which was published on GOV.UK on 4 November 2020.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies grouped question UIN 109490 question first answered 06/11/2020 11:49:17 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247048

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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, with reference to the 2018 reforms to the Social Fund’s funeral expenses payments scheme, whether the changes to enable claimants to submit evidence electronically have been implemented in full.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109492
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2020 answer text <p>Regulation 2 of The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Amendment Regulations 2018 allows for the electronic submission of evidence in connection with claims for social fund funeral payments. As a result, Funeral Directors are able to submit evidence electronically to support a claim for Funeral Expense Payments, and we continue to work on identifying a secure digital solution to extend this option to applicants.</p><p /><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 06/11/2020 11:53:04 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247052

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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, whether there was a backlog of applications for funeral expenses payments prior to the implementation of covid-19 lockdown restrictions on 23 March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>Prior to the implementation of COVID-19 restrictions on 23 March there was a backlog of Funeral Expense Payments (FEP) claims. In response to this and the COVID-19 outbreak, steps have been taken to significantly speed up the processing of Funeral Expense Payment claims in support of those who need it most.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/11/2020 17:46:57 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247057

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 payments were received in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the first six months of 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109497
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The number of Funeral Expenses Payment applications received, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p /><p>The information requested for 2019/20 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In the period April 2020 - September 2020, there were approximately 23,900 applications received for Funeral Expenses Payments in Great Britain.</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>Notes</p><p>The figure is rounded to the nearest 100.</p><ul><li>The figure relates to applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</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> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/11/2020 18:06:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247060

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 funeral expenses payment claims were accepted at initial decision in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the first six months of 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109498
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>We do not publish the number of claims awarded, at initial decision, as requested. The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>However, a variant on the data requested is in the public domain. Applications that were initially unsuccessful may have resulted in an award after review, reconsideration or appeal. These cases are included in the final awards in the Social Fund Annual Report.</p><p /><p>The number of Funeral Expenses Payment awards, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p /><p>The number of awards for 2019/20 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/11/2020 18:03:33 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247061

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 funeral expenses payments claims were rejected at initial decision in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the first six months of 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109499
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The number of Funeral Expenses Payment applications refused at initial decision, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p /><p>The information requested for 2019/20 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>In the period April 2020 - September 2020, there were approximately 8,500 applications refused, at initial decision, for Funeral Expenses Payments in Great Britain.</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>Notes</p><p>The figure is rounded to the nearest 100.</p><ul><li>Due to the timing of application processing, figures on initial refusals may relate to applications received in the previous year.</li><li>The number of initially unsuccessful applications is not equal to the number of people who unsuccessfully apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment, as individuals may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li><li>The number of initial refusals gives the number of initially unsuccessful applications and not those that are unsuccessful after appeal. An application will only be unsuccessful if it does not meet the qualifying criteria. These include, amongst other criteria, being in receipt of relevant benefits and meeting rules regarding relationship with the deceased. The full qualifying criteria are outlined in section 7 of “The Social Fund: Technical Guidance” publication. (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-social-fund-technical-guidance/the-social-fund-technical-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-social-fund-technical-guidance/the-social-fund-technical-guidance</a>)</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> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/11/2020 18:03:35 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247062

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 proportion of funeral expenses payments claims made in 2019-20 were cleared in (a) 15 working days, (b) 15 working days plus 2 days and (c) 15 working days plus 5 days.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109500
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The information requested, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report, up to 2017/18:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018</a></p><p /><p>The information requested for 2019/20 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/11/2020 17:49:36 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247063

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 proportion of funeral expenses payments claims made in the first six months of 2020-21 were cleared in (a) 15 working days, (b) 15 working days plus 2 days and (c) 15 working days plus 5 days.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109501
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/11/2020 answer text <p>The proportion of Funeral Expenses Payments made in the first 6 months of 2020-21 (April 20 to September 20) which were cleared in (a) 15 working days was 46%.</p><p>In April to September 2020 there was a backlog of claims which had built up over a period of months due to the closure of the Funeral Expenses Payments main processing centre in Balham in December 2019, and activity prior to closure to support staff through redeployment options. In March 2020 processing was impacted by colleagues shielding with health conditions under COVID.</p><p>We have since improved our processing and productivity times with a combination of additional processing support on loan, deployment of IT kit to colleagues at home and the introduction of process easements. These have been instrumental in improving the service to customers and the department are working with HMT and Ministers to seek permanent process changes.</p><p>We now have an Actual Average Clearance Time of 11.8 days in September 2020 compared to 34.7 days in September 2019.</p><p>Extract taken from RPT data store on 3<sup>rd</sup> November 2020.</p><p>Source: Departmental MISP from Social Fund Funeral Payment System</p><p>Please note that the data supplied is derived from unpublished management information which was collected for internal Departmental use only and has not been quality assured to National Statistics or Official Statistics publication standard. The data should therefore be treated with caution.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 13/11/2020 14:46:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1247065

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	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 funeral expenses payments claims took longer than six weeks to clear in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the first six months of 2020-21.
	tabling member constituency	Swansea East
	tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
	uin	109502
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/11/2020 answer text <p>This information is not held.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 06/11/2020 12:00:41 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

170139

	registered interest
	date	12/12/2014
	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 December 2014 to Question 216782, what steps his Department is taking to improve the administration process for funeral payments.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	218572
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>We are currently taking steps to improve the scheme and will continue to monitor its effectiveness so that it continues to meet its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral. For example staff are working with the Bereavement Service, the main conduit of initial applications, to ensure where possible they collect all the required evidence and information at the earliest possible juncture, smoothing and improving the process for claimants. On-going improvements such as this ensure claims are dealt with in a timely and consistent manner and are in the best interests of those needing the scheme’s support.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/12/2014 12:41:43 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

170554

	registered interest
	date	15/12/2014
	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 is the average time taken to process an application for funeral expenses from the Social Fund from application submission to decision in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) England, (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Airdrie and Shotts
	tabling member printed	Pamela Nash
	uin	218763
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/12/2014 answer text <p>The average number of working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in England, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain are set out for each of the last four financial years in Table 1 below.</p><p> </p><p>Information regarding funeral payments for Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland office.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Average working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Scotland</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Wales</strong><strong> and Great Britain, 2010/11 to 2013/14</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"> </td><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p>14.8</p></td><td><p>13.7</p></td><td><p>14.6</p></td><td><p>18.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p>13.9</p></td><td><p>14.5</p></td><td><p>14.4</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Wales</strong></p></td><td><p>11.6</p></td><td><p>12.8</p></td><td><p>16.9</p></td><td><p>19.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Great Britain</strong></p></td><td><p>14.5</p></td><td><p>13.8</p></td><td><p>14.7</p></td><td><p>18.4</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For additional context, the average monthly clearance times between April 2014 and November 2014 are given in Table 2. As these figures are based on a shorter time frame and Funeral Payment applications vary throughout the year; please note that these figures are not directly comparable to those in Table 1.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 2: Average number of working days taken to process applications for funeral payments in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Scotland</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>Wales</strong><strong> and </strong><strong>Great Britain</strong><strong>, by month, April 2014 to November 2014</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Scotland</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Great Britain</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Apr-14</p></td><td><p>21.4</p></td><td><p>22.9</p></td><td><p>20.9</p></td><td><p>21.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May-14</p></td><td><p>22.7</p></td><td><p>23.7</p></td><td><p>20.5</p></td><td><p>22.6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jun-14</p></td><td><p>21.3</p></td><td><p>23.4</p></td><td><p>20.2</p></td><td><p>21.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jul-14</p></td><td><p>17.3</p></td><td><p>18.7</p></td><td><p>14.9</p></td><td><p>17.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aug-14</p></td><td><p>17.0</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td><td><p>13.1</p></td><td><p>16.5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sep-14</p></td><td><p>18.4</p></td><td><p>18.0</p></td><td><p>15.0</p></td><td><p>17.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oct-14</p></td><td><p>19.7</p></td><td><p>25.2</p></td><td><p>13.2</p></td><td><p>19.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nov-14</p></td><td><p>13.2</p></td><td><p>14.1</p></td><td><p>17.1</p></td><td><p>13.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Apr-14 to Nov-14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>19.0</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>20.3</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>16.9</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>18.8</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><p>· These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</p><p>· The clearance time for funeral payment applications is measured in whole working days from the date the application is received until the date the decision is taken.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 18/12/2014 17:07:57 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3909 label Biography information for Pamela Nash

171916

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2015
	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, for what reason the amount granted in Social Fund funeral payments has not risen for more than 10 years.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	219706
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>We are conscious of the rise in burial and cremation fees. That is why the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment covers specified necessary costs. As these have increased in time, so has that portion of the overall Social Fund Funeral Payment. As such, the Government has protected these payments. The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide help towards a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and the average funeral expenses payment in 2002/03 was £929 rising in 2013/14 to £1,347.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This Government has also extended the Social Fund Budgeting Loans scheme so that these are also available to those on income related benefits to help towards the costs relating to funeral expenses.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 12/01/2015 12:32:25 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

173486

	registered interest
	date	13/01/2015
	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 2 December 2014 to Question 216270, whether the average payment made by the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme is intended to cover the whole cost of a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral; by what methodology he has assessed the total cost of such a funeral; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
	tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
	uin	220516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment has from its creation, as the claim form and guidance makes clear, provided help towards the cost of funerals for eligible claimants. This includes those necessary costs of burial or cremation, which will be met in full and a significant contribution of up to £700 towards other costs.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 20/01/2015 12:14:04 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

176596

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2015
	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 people have received funeral payments in (a) England, (b) London and (c) Enfield in each of the last 10 years; how much those payments amount to; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Edmonton
	tabling member printed	Mr Andrew Love
	uin	222358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2015 answer text <p>Tables 1 and 2 show the number of Funeral Payment awards and expenditure amount in England, London and North and North East London Budget Area between 2004/05 and 2013/14.</p><p> </p><p>DWP does not hold information about the number of people receiving Funeral Payment awards in a given time period. The number of awards made in each year is not equal to the number of people who received awards as an individual may have made multiple applications in that period.</p><p> </p><p>The lowest geographical level at which we hold Funeral Payment data is by Social Fund Budget Area; the geographical areas used to administer the Social Fund in Great Britain. Since 2008/09, the Budget Area covering Enfield is North and North East London, which also covers Waltham Forest and Barking and Dagenham as well as parts of Barnet, Hackney, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Islington and Redbridge. Earlier figures for this area are not available.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Funeral Payment awards in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>London</strong><strong> and North and North </strong><strong>East London</strong><strong>, 2004/05 to 2013/14</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>London</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>North and North<br> </strong><strong>East London</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2004/05</strong></p></td><td><p>34,700</p></td><td><p>4,800</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2005/06</strong></p></td><td><p>33,400</p></td><td><p>4,500</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2006/07</strong></p></td><td><p>32,700</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2007/08</strong></p></td><td><p>31,300</p></td><td><p>4,100</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2008/09</strong></p></td><td><p>32,500</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p>31,200</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p>30,500</p></td><td><p>3,800</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p>30,200</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>28,000</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>26,600</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>800</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p><strong><br> </strong></p><p><strong>Table 2: Funeral Payment expenditure in </strong><strong>England</strong><strong>, </strong><strong>London</strong><strong> and North and North </strong><strong>East London</strong><strong>, 2004/05 to 2013/14</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>England</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>London</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>North and North<br> </strong><strong>East London</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2004/05</strong></p></td><td><p>£36,925,100</p></td><td><p>£5,961,200</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2005/06</strong></p></td><td><p>£36,643,600</p></td><td><p>£5,819,400</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2006/07</strong></p></td><td><p>£37,148,000</p></td><td><p>£5,814,900</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2007/08</strong></p></td><td><p>£36,987,600</p></td><td><p>£5,959,300</p></td><td><p>-</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2008/09</strong></p></td><td><p>£39,495,800</p></td><td><p>£6,511,000</p></td><td><p>£1,260,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p>£38,410,300</p></td><td><p>£6,769,600</p></td><td><p>£1,274,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p>£37,445,800</p></td><td><p>£5,879,700</p></td><td><p>£1,294,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p>£37,723,000</p></td><td><p>£6,226,400</p></td><td><p>£1,347,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>£34,617,200</p></td><td><p>£5,590,100</p></td><td><p>£1,390,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>£36,185,500</p></td><td><p>£5,979,600</p></td><td><p>£1,429,500</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><p> </p><p>· These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</p><p>· All figures are rounded to the nearest £100.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 04/02/2015 11:49:46 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	164 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Love

222662

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2015
	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 estimate his Department has made of the cost of increasing the other funeral expenses category of the social fund funeral payments scheme in line with inflation since the level was set at £700 in 2003.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	224546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2015 answer text <p>There has been no estimate as we do not know what people would have claimed if the limit was higher. However, it is vital that the Government ensures that any scheme funded by the taxpayer is managed properly and the money spent wisely. The funding offered from both Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments and Budgeting Loans continues support towards the cost of a funeral, including necessary costs in full, whilst maintaining a fiscally viable fund.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 26/02/2015 14:30:37 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

385167

	registered interest
	date	23/06/2015
	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 people in each benefit delivery area (a) applied for and (b) received funeral payments in 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Preston
	tabling member printed	Mr Mark Hendrick
	uin	3868
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2015 answer text <p>The Table shows the number of Funeral Payment applications and awards over the 2014 calendar year broken down by Social Fund Budget Area.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP holds information on the number of applications received and awards made. Some people may have made more than one application in which case each application and any subsequent award would be counted separately in the table.</p><p> </p><p>National figures for Funeral Payments are published in the Annual Report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund.</p><p> </p><p>Table. Number of applications and awards made for Funeral Payments over the 2014 calendar year, broken down by Social Fund Budget Area</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Jobcentre Plus Social Fund Budget Area<br> by region</p></td><td><p>Applications <br> (thousands)</p></td><td><p>Awards <br> (thousands)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Essex</p></td><td><p>1.2</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norwich Benefit Delivery Centre</p></td><td><p>2.5</p></td><td><p>1.4</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands North</p></td><td><p>1.5</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East Midlands</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td><td><p>1.2</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Central and East London</p></td><td><p>1.3</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London South</p></td><td><p>2.4</p></td><td><p>1.4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North and North East London</p></td><td><p>1.4</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West London</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td><td><p>0.6</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Northumbria</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South Tyne and Wear Valley</p></td><td><p>1.2</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tees Valley</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td><td><p>0.5</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Chorlton Benefit Delivery Centre</p></td><td><p>5.0</p></td><td><p>2.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Greater Liverpool and Cheshire</p></td><td><p>3.3</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Inverness Benefit Delivery Centre</p></td><td><p>1.9</p></td><td><p>1.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Springburn Benefit Delivery Centre</p></td><td><p>4.5</p></td><td><p>3.0</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>South East - Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey</p></td><td><p>1.3</p></td><td><p>0.8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East – Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent and Sussex</p></td><td><p>3.3</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>South West Central</p></td><td><p>3.4</p></td><td><p>2.0</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Llanelli Benefit Delivery Centre</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td><td><p>0.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East Wales</p></td><td><p>2.2</p></td><td><p>1.4</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands Social Fund</p></td><td><p>5.2</p></td><td><p>3.2</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and Humberside</p></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire &amp; Humberside Bradford</p></td><td><p>1.4</p></td><td><p>0.9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire &amp; Humberside Sheffield</p></td><td><p>3.6</p></td><td><p>2.3</p></td></tr><tr><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td><p>Total in GB</p></td><td><p>52.5</p></td><td><p>32.3</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>· Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and are given in thousands</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 29/06/2015 13:12:55 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick

416623

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2015
	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 the budget for the Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme has been in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
	tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
	uin	8539
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments are made to all applicants who satisfy the eligibility criteria. Expenditure in the last five years was as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Expenditure</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£44.2m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>£44.7m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£43.1m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£46.7m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£46.5m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System</em></p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/09/2015 14:31:36 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

420370

	registered interest
	date	09/10/2015
	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 funeral payments were (a) made and (b) granted in each region in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Harrow West
	tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
	uin	11102
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/10/2015 answer text <p>Tables 1 and 2 give the number of the Funeral Expense Payment applications received and awards made by the Department for Work and Pensions by region from 2010/11 to 2014/15.</p><p><strong>Table 1: Funeral Expense Payment applications received by region, 2010/11 to 2014/15</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Region</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td><p>4,800</p></td><td><p>4,700</p></td><td><p>4,100</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>8,400</p></td><td><p>4,600</p></td><td><p>4,500</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>6,800</p></td><td><p>6,900</p></td><td><p>6,700</p></td><td><p>6,500</p></td><td><p>5,800</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td><td><p>4,700</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>10,600</p></td><td><p>10,400</p></td><td><p>10,300</p></td><td><p>9,200</p></td><td><p>8,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>8,300</p></td><td><p>8,500</p></td><td><p>8,000</p></td><td><p>7,400</p></td><td><p>6,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>6,200</p></td><td><p>6,400</p></td><td><p>5,700</p></td><td><p>5,200</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td><p>4,000</p></td><td><p>3,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td><td><p>3,700</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>7,200</p></td><td><p>6,800</p></td><td><p>6,600</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>4,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and Humberside</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td><td><p>6,700</p></td><td><p>6,400</p></td><td><p>5,500</p></td><td><p>4,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>68,800</p></td><td><p>68,500</p></td><td><p>65,600</p></td><td><p>59,100</p></td><td><p>50,600</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>Table 2: Funeral Expense Payment awards made by region, 2010/11 to 2014/15</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Region</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>2,600</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>2,200</p></td><td><p>2,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>4,200</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>2,300</p></td><td><p>2,200</p></td><td><p>2,100</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>3,800</p></td><td><p>3,900</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>2,400</p></td><td><p>2,400</p></td><td><p>2,100</p></td><td><p>1,900</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>6,100</p></td><td><p>6,100</p></td><td><p>5,700</p></td><td><p>5,300</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>5,100</p></td><td><p>5,000</p></td><td><p>4,800</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td><td><p>4,300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>3,100</p></td><td><p>2,900</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>2,700</p></td><td><p>2,700</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>1,800</p></td><td><p>2,300</p></td><td><p>2,100</p></td><td><p>2,100</p></td><td><p>1,900</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>2,600</p></td><td><p>2,400</p></td><td><p>2,400</p></td><td><p>2,200</p></td><td><p>2,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>4,100</p></td><td><p>3,800</p></td><td><p>3,700</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and Humberside</p></td><td><p>2,500</p></td><td><p>3,600</p></td><td><p>3,500</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>3,200</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total</p></td><td><p>38,200</p></td><td><p>37,700</p></td><td><p>35,200</p></td><td><p>33,100</p></td><td><p>32,100</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes:</p><ul><li>All figures are rounded to the nearest 100.</li></ul><ul><li>Figures may not sum due to rounding.</li></ul><ul><li>The applications figures are based on applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li></ul><ul><li>The award figures include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li></ul><ul><li>These figures do not include cases which have been processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</li></ul> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/10/2015 15:24:12 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

421214

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2015
	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 support his Department is giving to people on low incomes who are unable to cover the costs of a funeral deposit.
	tabling member constituency	Rochdale
	tabling member printed	Simon Danczuk
	uin	11552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/10/2015 answer text <p>I believe it is important that help is available to people on low incomes when they face moments of unforeseeable and exceptional need. For this reason, the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments scheme provides help to people on qualifying benefits with funeral costs.</p><p>Social Fund Budgeting Loans, which can be made to people who have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 26 weeks, are also available to support people with funeral costs. Budgeting Loans can be made irrespective of whether the applicant has claimed or is entitled to a Funeral Expenses Payment, and can therefore help where a deposit is required up front.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 19/10/2015 14:58:02 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4059 label Biography information for Simon Danczuk

433297

	registered interest
	date	30/11/2015
	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 adequacy of Funeral Payment provision for funeral expenses.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
	tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
	uin	18149
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2015 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide valuable help towards the cost of a funeral for people in receipt of a qualifying benefit. My department continually reviews the scheme to improve and streamline it.</p><br /><p>Funeral Expenses Payments are made to all applicants who satisfy the eligibility criteria. Awards cover the full necessary costs involved with either burial or cremation and up to £700 for other funeral expenses. In 2014/15 over 32,000 awards were made to people in Great Britain. These payments were worth £44 million, with an average award of £1,375. The average award has increased by 27% since 2006.</p><br /><p>Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to help with funeral expenses for people who have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 26 weeks.</p><br /> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 03/12/2015 14:37:54 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

443702

	registered interest
	date	11/01/2016
	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, whether he has any plans to change the social fund funeral payment in the next 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	21875
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2016 answer text <p>The Government continually looks to improve its service. For example, in 2015 informal discussions have already taken place with stakeholders, including the National Association of Funeral Directors, representatives from life assurance companies, academics and advice services on possible improvements. These discussions carry on and there is a current focus on how to improve information on eligibility.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 14/01/2016 15:27:20 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

448759

	registered interest
	date	28/01/2016
	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 funerals were made in each year between 2010 and 2015; how many such applications were refused; and what the (a) budget and (b) lowest payment made was.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	24696
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/02/2016 answer text <p>Table 1 shows the number of applications for Funeral Expenses Payments which were made and the number refused in the financial years 2010/11 to 2014/15.</p><p><strong>Table 1</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications (000)</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Initial Refusals (000)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>59</p></td><td><p>27</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Data sourced from the DWP policy, Budget and Management Information System and is published in the Annual Report by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Social Fund for the relevant year.</p><p>The budget for the Social Fund, Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) expenditure is demand-led. Legislation prescribes that payments are made to all eligible applicants. That is people responsible for arranging a funeral who meet the rules on relationships with the deceased and receive a qualifying benefit. Provision for FEPs is made by central Government through the supply estimate process, but these figures are not translated into an operational budget and do not impact eligibility or award amounts.</p><p>In a minority of cases funeral expense payments are subsequently recovered from the deceased’s estate and in these cases the net amount can be very small. Given the small numbers involved it is not appropriate to release figures as there is a risk of identifying individuals.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/02/2016 11:41:04 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

511483

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2016
	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 steps his Department is tacking to tackle funeral poverty in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
	tabling member printed	Owen Smith
	uin	33700
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/04/2016 answer text <p>This department supports people with help on funeral expenses through the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments scheme, which provides help towards the cost of a simple funeral for people claiming eligible benefits.</p><p>We are considering the recent Work and Pensions Select Committee report on support for the bereaved and will respond in due course.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 18/04/2016 16:23:32 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

514830

	registered interest
	date	21/04/2016
	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, whether he has considered measures to expedite the current five to six week processing time for applications to the Department for Work and Pensions Funeral Fund; and what the target processing time is for applications to that Fund.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	35018
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2016 answer text <p>If all the necessary information is received with the Funeral Expenses Payments claim form the application is processed straight away. The department is committed to ensuring that communications on eligibility for Funeral Payments are improved. This will in turn help claims to be processed and decisions to be made more quickly.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>For 2016/17 DWP aims to clear Funeral Expenses Payments claims within 15 working days. In 2014/15 of the 51,000 applications, over 55% were cleared within target; and over 69% cleared within 21 working days.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 26/04/2016 14:44:39 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

515471

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2016
	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 18 April 2016 to Question 33700, what steps his Department is taking to monitor levels of funeral poverty.
	tabling member constituency	Pontypridd
	tabling member printed	Owen Smith
	uin	35294
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2016 answer text <p>The Government recognises that some families on low incomes can struggle to meet the costs of a funeral, this is why the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments covers specified necessary costs and provides a significant contribution of up to £700 towards the fee levied by funeral directors for all other funeral expenses.</p><p>My Department continues to look at the effectiveness of the scheme so that it provides effective support and will keep on monitoring its effectiveness and liaising with stakeholders and interested groups so that it maintains its aim of providing a contribution towards the cost of a funeral.</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 04/05/2016 16:34:28 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4042 label Biography information for Owen Smith

516893

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2016
	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 26 April 2016 to Question 35018, how many funeral expense payments were processed by his Department in 2015-16; and what proportion of such applications were processed within (a) 15, (b) 20 and (c) 25 working days.
	tabling member constituency	Kilmarnock and Loudoun
	tabling member printed	Alan Brown
	uin	36155
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/05/2016 answer text <p>For 2015/16 the Department processed 45,467 applications for Funeral Expense Payments with 69.7% cleared within 15 working days and 83.4% cleared within 20 working days. We are unable to provide data on how many applications were processed within 25 working days as the Management Information system that the Department uses for Funeral Expenses does not provide this level of detail.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Source:</strong></p><p> </p><p>Number processed - Department for Work and Pensions – Management Information System Program (MISP) - Management Information Portal</p><p> </p><p>% processed - Department for Work and Pensions – Office Print Report Tool (OPRT) - Management Information Statistics</p> answering member constituency North Swindon answering member printed Justin Tomlinson question first answered 05/05/2016 12:45:27 answering member 4105 label Biography information for Justin Tomlinson
	tabling member	4470 label Biography information for Alan Brown

576525

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2016
	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 the total expenditure from the public purse was for the social fund funeral payments scheme in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	44897
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/09/2016 answer text <p>During 2015-16 in Scotland there were around 5500 applications for Funeral Expenses Payments and around 3700 awards granted.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 2015-16 across Great Britain £40,025,000 was paid out in Funeral Expenses Payments and repayments totalled £183,000. These figures are given on page 12 of the Social Fund Account 2015-16 (linked to below)</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535981/social-fund-account-2015-16.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/535981/social-fund-account-2015-16.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes grouped question UIN 44895 question first answered 08/09/2016 11:23:08 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens

596113

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2016
	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 the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment Scheme his Department has (a) received and (b) accepted in each of the last five years in (i) Birmingham, Northfield constituency, (ii) West Midlands and (iii) England.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	46705
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>Table 1 below gives the number of applications for Funeral Expenses Payments received in England and in the West Midlands government office region for each of the last 5 financial years from 2011/12 to 2015/16. Table 2 gives the number of awards for Funeral Expenses Payments made in those two areas.</p><p>DWP does not hold data on Funeral Expenses Payments at constituency level.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Applications received for Funeral Expenses Payments in West Midlands and England between 2011/12 and 2015/16</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16 </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>West Midlands </strong></p></td><td><p>6,800</p></td><td><p>6,600</p></td><td><p>6,000</p></td><td><p>4,900</p></td><td><p>4,500</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>England </strong></p></td><td><p>55,700</p></td><td><p>53,200</p></td><td><p>48,000</p></td><td><p>40,900</p></td><td><p>35,900</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p><strong> Table 2: Awards made for Funeral Expenses Payments in West Midlands and England between 2011/12 and 2015/16</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015/16</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>West Midlands </strong></p></td><td><p>3,800</p></td><td><p>3,700</p></td><td><p>3,300</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td><p>3,000</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>England </strong></p></td><td><p>30,200</p></td><td><p>28,000</p></td><td><p>26,600</p></td><td><p>25,600</p></td><td><p>22,800</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p><strong>Notes</strong></p><ul><li>The number of applications and awards are rounded to the nearest 100.</li><li>The applications figures are based on applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li><li>The award figures include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li><li>These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</li><li>The number of awards made in each year is not equal to the number of people who made applications or received awards in that year. An individual may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li></ul> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 17/10/2016 12:31:14 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

692080

	registered interest
	date	20/02/2017
	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, whether the Government plans to take steps to tackle funeral poverty among bereaved parents.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Hall Green
	tabling member printed	Mr Roger Godsiff
	uin	64628
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2017 answer text <p>The Government recognises that the period following a death will have emotional, social and financial impacts for the bereaved and people may need to draw on a wide range of support at that difficult time.</p><p> </p><p>It is for that reason that the Department for Work and Pensions operates the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments scheme, which makes a significant contribution towards a funeral, for families claiming eligible benefits.</p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 23/02/2017 16:49:09 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	304 label Biography information for Mr Roger Godsiff

705718

	registered interest
	date	27/02/2017
	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 financial support the Government provides for families affected by funeral poverty after the death of a child.
	tabling member constituency	South Down
	tabling member printed	Ms Margaret Ritchie
	uin	65708
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/03/2017 answer text <p>The Department for Work and Pensions makes available Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments to people who are arranging a funeral, including the funeral of a child, and who are in receipt of a qualifying income-related benefit. Funeral Expenses Payments make a significant contribution towards the cost of arranging a funeral.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Romsey and Southampton North answering member printed Caroline Nokes question first answered 06/03/2017 15:05:30 answering member 4048 label Biography information for Caroline Nokes
	tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick