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65812

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2014
	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, if his Department will review the rate for Social Fund funeral expenses payments.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Mark Lazarowicz
	uin	203946
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2014 answer text <p>There are no current plans to review the rate of funeral payments. However, for those who are eligible to be considered for a budgeting loan payment, the scope of this scheme has now been expanded to include funeral costs.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 08/07/2014 14:39:26 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1411 label Biography information for Mark Lazarowicz

78608

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2014
	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 average time is taken to process an application for funeral expenses from the Social Fund from the time an application is submitted to a decision being taken.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Mark Lazarowicz
	uin	206104
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The clearance time for Funeral Payments, as published in the 2012/13 Social Fund Annual report, is an average of 14.76 days, against a target of 16 days</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 22/07/2014 11:27:29 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1411 label Biography information for Mark Lazarowicz

78609

	registered interest
	date	16/07/2014
	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, how many current applications for funeral expenses from the Social Fund have been outstanding for longer than (a) 16 days, (b) 18 days and (c) 21 days.
	tabling member constituency	Edinburgh North and Leith
	tabling member printed	Mark Lazarowicz
	uin	206106
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>This information is not held in the format requested and can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 01/09/2014 15:09:36 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	1411 label Biography information for Mark Lazarowicz

91110

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2014
	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 proportion of funeral payment decisions were made within his Department's target time in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	208463
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>The following table has been taken from the Social Fund Annual Report for 2012/13 which is the latest available published data and the Social Fund Annual Reports for 2011/12 and 2010/11.</p><p> </p><p>The table shows that the average clearance time for Funeral Payment awards was 14.76 working days against a target of 16 working days in 2012/13, 13.8 working days in 2011/12 and 14.5 working days in 2010/11.</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td>Funeral Payments</td><td></td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td></tr><tr><td>Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) in working days</td><td>AACT Achieved</td><td>AACT Achieved</td><td>% Cleared within AACT Standard</td><td>% Cleared within AACT Standard plus 2 days</td><td>% Cleared within AACT Standard Plus 5 days</td></tr><tr><td>2012/13</td><td>16</td><td>14.76</td><td>65.10%</td><td>74.20%</td><td>83.00%</td></tr><tr><td>2011/12</td><td>16</td><td>13.8</td><td>*</td><td>*</td><td>*</td></tr><tr><td>2010/11</td><td>16</td><td>14.5</td><td>*</td><td>*</td><td>*</td></tr></tbody></table><p /> <p>* <strong>denotes data unavailable</strong></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/09/2014 16:07:20 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

91117

	registered interest
	date	08/09/2014
	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 the (a) average and (b) total cost was of processing claims for Social Fund Funeral Payments in the last year.
	tabling member constituency	South Shields
	tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
	uin	208465
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The costs of producing a Social Fund Funeral Payment across DWP in 2013-14 were as follows:</p><p> </p><p>Total Cost £2.598m</p><p>Unit Cost £45.56</p><p> </p><p>This includes salary costs plus locally attributed non-staff costs.</p><p> </p><p>Source ABM 2013-14 Model (10/9/14).</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 11/09/2014 16:17:01 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

92715

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2014
	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, how the value of help for funeral costs is calculated; what factors those calculations take into account; and what account is taken in such calculations of the income of the next of kin.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	209863
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The value of help for funeral costs is calculated to cover the necessary costs of: a new burial plot with all necessary burial fees or the cost of necessary cremation fees; reasonable cost of transportation of the body in the UK, for any part of the journey that is in excess of 50 miles, and the necessary cost of that part of the return journey that is over 50 miles for the transport of the coffin and bearers, plus 1 additional vehicle; the cost of documentation needed for the immediate release of assets of the deceased; and the necessary expenses of one return journey for the responsible person to arrange or attend the funeral. We also provide up to £700 for other funeral expenses.</p><p> </p><p>To be eligible for a Funeral Payment the person who is responsible for payment of the funeral bill must be the partner of the deceased, if there is one, or a close relative or friend of the deceased and be in receipt of certain income based benefits.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 15/10/2014 13:20:55 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

92716

	registered interest
	date	10/10/2014
	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 steps his Department has taken to monitor the average costs of funerals; and what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of funeral payments to meet the average cost of a funeral.
	tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
	tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
	uin	209862
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>My department does not collect data to monitor the average cost of funerals.</p><p> </p><p>The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme provides help towards the necessary costs of a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and is not intended to meet all costs that could be associated with the day. The average award made in 2012/13 was £1,225.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 16/10/2014 13:55:01 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
	tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

850129

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2018
	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, how many claims for the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment Scheme her Department (a) received and (b) accepted in (i) the West Midlands and (ii) England in 2016-17.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Northfield
	tabling member printed	Richard Burden
	uin	129697
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2018 answer text <p>Table 1 below gives the number of applications received and number of awards for Funeral Expenses Payments in England and in the West Midlands government office region in 2016/17.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: applications received and awards for Funeral Expense Payments in England and West Midlands, 2016/17</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>England</p></td><td><p>West Midlands</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Applications received</p></td><td><p>35,900</p></td><td><p>4,400</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Awards</p></td><td><p>21,200</p></td><td><p>2,600</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Source: Policy, Budget and Management Information System</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Notes:</p><p> </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 North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 07/03/2018 17:07:19 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	301 label Biography information for Richard Burden

862285

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2018
	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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of the maximum level of funeral expenses payments, in relation to recent trends in funeral costs.
	tabling member constituency	Birkenhead
	tabling member printed	Frank Field
	uin	132704
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/03/2018 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments continue to meet the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants. Average payments have increased year-on-year to meet these necessary costs. We have had to make difficult choices about welfare spending and it has not been possible to increase the £700 maximum for other costs. However we have made interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans available for funeral costs in addition to Funeral Expenses Payments.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016/17, approximately 27,000 Funeral Expenses Payments were paid worth around £38.6 million. The average payment made has increased in value in the past ten years by about 28 per cent – from £1,117 in 2006/07 to £1,427 in 2016/17 – as the necessary costs have increased.</p><p> </p><p>We need to ensure that we have a system that is both fair for tax payers, while assisting the most vulnerable with funeral expenses. The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme continues to make a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral for claimants on certain income based benefits or tax credits.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 20/03/2018 15:45:00 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	478 label Biography information for Lord Field of Birkenhead

865113

	registered interest
	date	16/03/2018
	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, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the level of the cap on Social Fund Funeral Payments to cover the basic cost of a funeral.
	tabling member constituency	Glasgow South West
	tabling member printed	Chris Stephens
	uin	132980
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2018 answer text <p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments continue to meet the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants. Average payments have increased year-on-year to meet these necessary costs. We have had to make difficult choices about welfare spending and it has not been possible to increase the £700 maximum for other costs. However we have made interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans available for funeral costs in addition to Funeral Expenses Payments.</p><p> </p><p>In 2016/17, approximately 27,000 Funeral Expenses Payments were paid worth around £38.6 million. The average payment made has increased in value in the past ten years by about 28 per cent – from £1,117 in 2006/07 to £1,427 in 2016/17 – as the necessary costs have increased.</p><p> </p><p>The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme continues to make a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple funeral for claimants on certain income based benefits or tax credits.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 21/03/2018 10:55:34 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4463 label Biography information for Chris Stephens