Asked by: Andrew Love (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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.
Answered by Steve Webb
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.
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.
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.
Table 1: Funeral Payment awards in England, London and North and North East London, 2004/05 to 2013/14
Year | England | London | North and North |
2004/05 | 34,700 | 4,800 | - |
2005/06 | 33,400 | 4,500 | - |
2006/07 | 32,700 | 4,300 | - |
2007/08 | 31,300 | 4,100 | - |
2008/09 | 32,500 | 4,200 | 800 |
2009/10 | 31,200 | 4,400 | 800 |
2010/11 | 30,500 | 3,800 | 800 |
2011/12 | 30,200 | 3,900 | 800 |
2012/13 | 28,000 | 3,600 | 900 |
2013/14 | 26,600 | 3,500 | 800 |
Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System
Table 2: Funeral Payment expenditure in England, London and North and North East London, 2004/05 to 2013/14
Year | England | London | North and North |
2004/05 | £36,925,100 | £5,961,200 | - |
2005/06 | £36,643,600 | £5,819,400 | - |
2006/07 | £37,148,000 | £5,814,900 | - |
2007/08 | £36,987,600 | £5,959,300 | - |
2008/09 | £39,495,800 | £6,511,000 | £1,260,500 |
2009/10 | £38,410,300 | £6,769,600 | £1,274,400 |
2010/11 | £37,445,800 | £5,879,700 | £1,294,800 |
2011/12 | £37,723,000 | £6,226,400 | £1,347,300 |
2012/13 | £34,617,200 | £5,590,100 | £1,390,800 |
2013/14 | £36,185,500 | £5,979,600 | £1,429,500 |
Source: DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System
Notes
· These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.
· All figures are rounded to the nearest £100.
Asked by: Andrew Love (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information is required by his Department to allow the payment of universal credit into a credit union account; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Esther McVey
Universal Credit can currently be paid into a Credit Union current account and claimants would need to provide an individual account number and sort code. We plan to be in a position to make UC payments into any type of Credit Union account at a future date.
Asked by: Andrew Love (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place to allow for the payment of universal credit to those without a bank or building society account; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Esther McVey
For those without a bank or building society, the Department can pay Universal Credit into a Credit Union current account, Post Office card account or by Simple Payment.
A Simple Payment is a cash transfer service, which has been designed to pay those people who DWP cannot pay into any type of account.
Asked by: Andrew Love (Labour (Co-op) - Edmonton)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what arrangements are in place to allow people who do not have access to a computer or the internet to claim universal credit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mark Harper
Support is available through our own Jobcentre network where we are introducing 6,000 additional web access devices to improve digital access by Autumn. Claimants can be given access to the internet through these devices to make a claim and support will be given where necessary if they are not familiar with digital services.
DWP already works in partnership with local authorities who can also provide digital access and digital support for claimants through existing outlets.
DWP also provides a telephony service to support those unable to use the digital channel.