Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

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

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

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

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

931803

registered interest
date	27/06/2018
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 Funeral Expenses Payment claims there have been in each year since 2005.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Ged Killen
uin	158357
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2018 answer text <p>Data on the amount claimed for Funeral Expenses Payments (FEPs) is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The number of FEP applications received by the DWP and awards as a proportion of FEP applications processed, in each calendar year since 2005, are given below in table 1. They are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. Figures are not given for 2018 as the calendar year is incomplete.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the timing of application processing, figures on awards may relate to applications processed in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: FEP applications received and proportion of FEP applications resulting in an award, Great Britain 2005 - 2017</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Applications received (000s)</p></td><td><p>Awards as a proportion of applications processed</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>68.5</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>67.7</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>63.8</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>67.5</p></td><td><p>59.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>68.9</p></td><td><p>58.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>66.8</p></td><td><p>56.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>54.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>66.4</p></td><td><p>54.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>62.2</p></td><td><p>56.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>52.5</p></td><td><p>59.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>46.6</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>44.3</p></td><td><p>60.9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>41.8</p></td><td><p>61.7%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Social Fund Policy, Budget, and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>These figures do not include applications that were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</li><li>Figures on applications received differ from the number of applications processed by the DWP. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li><li>The number of applications made in each year is not equal to the number of people who made applications in that year. An individual may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li><li>The proportion of FEP claims resulting in an award is calculated by dividing the number of awards in a given year by the number of applications processed by the DWP in a given year. The number of awards used in this calculation includes awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 158358 158359 question first answered 02/07/2018 16:44:29 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

931804

registered interest
date	27/06/2018
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 estimate she has made of the average amount claimed for each funeral expenses payment in each year since 2005.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Ged Killen
uin	158358
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2018 answer text <p>Data on the amount claimed for Funeral Expenses Payments (FEPs) is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The number of FEP applications received by the DWP and awards as a proportion of FEP applications processed, in each calendar year since 2005, are given below in table 1. They are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. Figures are not given for 2018 as the calendar year is incomplete.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the timing of application processing, figures on awards may relate to applications processed in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: FEP applications received and proportion of FEP applications resulting in an award, Great Britain 2005 - 2017</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Applications received (000s)</p></td><td><p>Awards as a proportion of applications processed</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>68.5</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>67.7</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>63.8</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>67.5</p></td><td><p>59.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>68.9</p></td><td><p>58.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>66.8</p></td><td><p>56.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>54.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>66.4</p></td><td><p>54.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>62.2</p></td><td><p>56.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>52.5</p></td><td><p>59.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>46.6</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>44.3</p></td><td><p>60.9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>41.8</p></td><td><p>61.7%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Social Fund Policy, Budget, and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>These figures do not include applications that were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</li><li>Figures on applications received differ from the number of applications processed by the DWP. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li><li>The number of applications made in each year is not equal to the number of people who made applications in that year. An individual may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li><li>The proportion of FEP claims resulting in an award is calculated by dividing the number of awards in a given year by the number of applications processed by the DWP in a given year. The number of awards used in this calculation includes awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 158357 158359 question first answered 02/07/2018 16:44:29 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

931805

registered interest
date	27/06/2018
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 proportion of funeral expenses payment claims were successful in each year since 2005.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Ged Killen
uin	158359
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2018 answer text <p>Data on the amount claimed for Funeral Expenses Payments (FEPs) is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>The number of FEP applications received by the DWP and awards as a proportion of FEP applications processed, in each calendar year since 2005, are given below in table 1. They are rounded to the nearest 0.1%. Figures are not given for 2018 as the calendar year is incomplete.</p><p> </p><p>Due to the timing of application processing, figures on awards may relate to applications processed in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: FEP applications received and proportion of FEP applications resulting in an award, Great Britain 2005 - 2017</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Applications received (000s)</p></td><td><p>Awards as a proportion of applications processed</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2005</p></td><td><p>68.5</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>67.7</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>63.8</p></td><td><p>61.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>67.5</p></td><td><p>59.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>68.9</p></td><td><p>58.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>66.8</p></td><td><p>56.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>54.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>66.4</p></td><td><p>54.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>62.2</p></td><td><p>56.3%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>52.5</p></td><td><p>59.1%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>46.6</p></td><td><p>62.5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>44.3</p></td><td><p>60.9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>41.8</p></td><td><p>61.7%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Source: Social Fund Policy, Budget, and Management Information System</p><p> </p><p>Notes:</p><p> </p><ul><li>These figures do not include applications that were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.</li><li>Figures on applications received differ from the number of applications processed by the DWP. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.</li><li>The number of applications made in each year is not equal to the number of people who made applications in that year. An individual may make multiple applications in a given time period.</li><li>The proportion of FEP claims resulting in an award is calculated by dividing the number of awards in a given year by the number of applications processed by the DWP in a given year. The number of awards used in this calculation includes awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.</li></ul><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse grouped question UIN 158357 158358 question first answered 02/07/2018 16:44:30 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

931589

registered interest
date	26/06/2018
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 recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funeral expenses payment in covering average funeral costs.
tabling member constituency	Rutherglen and Hamilton West
tabling member printed	Ged Killen
uin	157864
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2018 answer text <p>The Department has not carried out such an assessment. Funeral costs vary by circumstance, and 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><p>The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment scheme meets the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants, with the average Funeral Expenses Payment increasing year-on-year to meet the necessary costs. We also provide up to £700 for other costs. In 2016/17, my department made approximately 27,000 Funeral Expenses Payments, costing around £38.6 million.</p><p>In addition to Funeral Expenses Payments, my department provides interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans to help meet additional funeral costs for eligible claimants.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 02/07/2018 16:37:58 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4672 label Biography information for Ged Killen

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

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