Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many funeral expenses payments claims were rejected at initial decision in (a) 2019-20 and (b) the first six months of 2020-21.

The number of Funeral Expenses Payment applications refused at initial decision, 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 8,500 applications refused, at initial decision, 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.

• Due to the timing of application processing, figures on initial refusals may relate to applications received in the previous year.
• The number of initially unsuccessful applications is not equal to the number of people who unsuccessfully apply for a Funeral Expenses Payment, as individuals may make multiple applications in a given time period.
• The number of initial refusals gives the number of initially unsuccessful applications and not those that are unsuccessful after appeal. An application will only be unsuccessful if it does not meet the qualifying criteria. These include, amongst other criteria, being in receipt of relevant benefits and meeting rules regarding relationship with the deceased. The full qualifying criteria are outlined in section 7 of “The Social Fund: Technical Guidance” publication. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-social-fund-technical-guidance/the-social-fund-technical-guidance)
• 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comparisons made of applications received, initial decisions, awards and initial refusals are due to applications being withdrawn; applicants rejecting or not responding to loan offers; and decisions outstanding at the time of the count.