Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

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.

The number of Funeral Expenses Payment applications received, in Great Britain, is reported annually in Appendix 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/social-fund-annual-report-2017-to-2018

The information requested for 2019/20 will be published in due course, and so cannot be released ahead of publication.

In the period April 2020 - September 2020, there were approximately 23,900 applications received for Funeral Expenses Payments in Great Britain.

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.

Notes

The figure is rounded to the nearest 100.

• The figure relates to applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.
• 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.
• 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comparisons made of applications received, initial decisions, awards and initial refusals are due to applications being withdrawn; applicants rejecting or not responding to loan offers; and decisions outstanding at the time of the count.