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<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 Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision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are due to applications being withdrawn; applicants rejecting or not responding to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>
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