Asked by: Rosie Cooper (Labour - West Lancashire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 162619, o Funeral Payments, what assessment she has made of the reasons for the rejection of 47 per cent of applications for the funeral expenses payment in January 2021.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In reference to the Answer of 8th 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.
Reasons for this discrepancy are below:
We publish application success rate in Annex 1 of the Social Fund Annual Report. The latest available is the 2018/19 report:
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 March 2021 to Question 162619, what plans she has to improve (a) awareness of and (b) access to the funeral expenses payment scheme.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We regularly review and take action to improve the awareness and accessibility of the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme, working with a range of stakeholders.
This includes refreshing the ‘Get help with funeral costs’ information on GOV.UK. We have also revised the Department leaflet ‘What to do when someone dies’ to provide a clear step-by-step guide that signposts to available financial support including Funeral Expenses Payment. This has been shared extensively. We also plan to attend a number of funeral industry events in 2021 to raise awareness and understanding of the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme.
We have taken steps to improve access to the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme. The Bereavement Service helpline operates a Freephone service to report a death and to initiate a Funeral Expenses Payment claim. The Department has worked closely with voluntary groups, hospitals, Registrars and Funeral Directors to ensure that the bereaved are signposted to the helpline for further support. Funeral Directors are able to submit evidence electronically to support a Funeral Expenses Payment claim and we continue to work on identifying a secure digital solution to extend this option to applicants.
Telephone: 0800 731 0469
Welsh language: 0800 731 0453
Textphone: 0800 731 0464
Welsh language: 0800 731 0456
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
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.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The number of Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) applications received, and awards, for each month since March 2019 is provided in the table below.
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.
Number of Funeral Expenses Payments applications received, and awards, 1 March 2019 to 31 January 2021 | ||
Month | Number of Applications Received | Number of Awards |
March 2019 | 3,620 | 2,510 |
April 2019 | 3,410 | 2,090 |
May 2019 | 3,730 | 2,080 |
June 2019 | 2,730 | 1,790 |
July 2019 | 3,020 | 1,790 |
August 2019 | 2,960 | 1,910 |
September 2019 | 2,710 | 1,860 |
October 2019 | 3,300 | 2,480 |
November 2019 | 3,000 | 2,550 |
December 2019 | 2,580 | 1,510 |
January 2020 | 2,730 | 1,270 |
February 2020 | 3,910 | 1,270 |
March 2020 | 3,660 | 1,330 |
April 2020 | 2,790 | 2,920 |
May 2020 | 5,880 | 4,420 |
June 2020 | 4,760 | 4,480 |
July 2020 | 3,850 | 3,090 |
August 2020 | 3,100 | 2,040 |
September 2020 | 3,520 | 2,360 |
October 2020 | 3,450 | 2,220 |
November 2020 | 3,600 | 2,370 |
December 2020 | 3,060 | 1,830 |
January 2021 | 3,890 | 2,050 |
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if the Government will increase the capped portion of the social fund funeral expenses payment.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On the 8 April 2020, the value of the capped portion of the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment rose by 43 per cent, from £700 to £1000. There are no current plans to increase this.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of bereavement support payment in order to increase uptake of that benefit.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Bereavement Support Payments (BSP) can provide vital support for those who are eligible to receive them and our communications are directly targeted at this group. The department staff, including those in Jobcentres, are trained to ensure correct support is offered to all customers and can assist with the process of applying for BSP as we appreciate applications are made at a difficult time.
We also produced a step by step guide to help bereaved people understand what to do after a death. It provides information on where to get help, which agencies to approach and which benefits they may be able to claim; while also signposting them to GOV.UK for the latest information. We have improved the information available on GOV.UK about BSP and Funeral Expenses Payment and are continually exploring ways to join up Bereavement Services and the Cross-Government Tell Us Once service.
We continue to promote BSP to relevant external stakeholders through regular meetings, newsletters and ministerial engagement.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to increase the number of apprenticeships offered in the funeral and death care sector.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
Apprenticeships are jobs with high-quality training, created by employers, and we encourage businesses in all sectors, including the funeral and death care sector, to use apprenticeships to recruit the right people and develop the skills they need.
There are two high-quality, employer-designed, apprenticeship standards in the funeral and death care sector available for employers to use; the level 3 funeral director standard and the level 2 funeral team member standard. In 2019-20 academic year, there were 50 starts on the funeral director standard and 140 starts on the funeral team member standard. A level 3 mortuary technician standard and a level 5 embalmer standard are currently in development.
To help employers in all sectors offer new apprenticeships, they are now able to claim £2,000 for every new apprentice they hire under the age of 25, and £1,500 for new apprentices aged 25 and over. These incentive payments were announced as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs in July 2020 and the extension of the scheme (to the end of March 2021) was announced in the November Spending Review.
We are committed to supporting employers of all sizes to offer apprenticeships. In the 2021-22 financial year, we are making available £2.5 billion to support apprenticeships in all employers, irrespective of their size.
We continue to work with smaller employers to give them the confidence and support to take on new apprentices. We are reforming the system so that unspent levy funds can be used more easily not just in big companies, but in the small and medium enterprises too.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for social fund funeral expenses her Department has approved since April 2020.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the period 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020, there were approximately 25,800 applications awarded for Funeral Expenses Payments, in England and Wales.
This figure is an estimate using unaudited internal DWP figures on the number of FEP loans. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official / National statistics.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many applications for social fund funeral expenses payments her Department has received since April 2020.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the period 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2020, there were approximately 34,000 applications received for Funeral Expenses Payments, in England and Wales.
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.
Asked by: Baroness Sherlock (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what financial support is available to the estates of deceased frontline workers who are not eligible for the NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The NHS and Social Care Coronavirus Life Assurance Scheme provides a safety net for the families of National Health Service and social care staff who have no life insurance cover provided by their employer or a pension scheme. For those who do, it provides an extra level of financial protection in addition to death in service benefits they have bought though their pension scheme.
NHS staff receive good quality death in service benefits through the NHS Pension Scheme, providing a lump sum and survivor pensions for a partner and dependents for qualifying members. NHS staff who claim their pension are guaranteed five years’ worth of pension payments plus ongoing survivor pensions. Around 90% of NHS staff participate in the scheme.
The ‘What to do when someone dies’ online resource provides a step by step guide on what to do after a death, including how to manage financial issues. This guide covers the financial support available to help with paying for a funeral and how to check entitlement to bereavement benefits. For those in receipt of income related benefits or tax credits, the Department for Work and Pensions Funeral Expense Payments scheme can offer a significant contribution to the cost of a funeral. Also, the Bereavement Support Payment provides short-term financial support to working age people whose deceased spouse or civil partner has paid sufficient National Insurance contributions. It is intended to help with the immediate costs of bereavement and can be paid to both widows and widowers.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of individuals who are entitled to claim Bereavement Support Payments fail to do so; and how information on these payments and their criteria for eligibility are disseminated to the general public.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott
Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) was introduced in April 2017, to replace Widowed Parent’s Allowance, Bereavement Allowance and Bereavement Payments. To date no assessment has been made of what percentage of individuals, who are entitled to claim Bereavement Support Payments, fail to do so.
Information is available which aims to ensure people are aware of bereavement support payment and how to claim it. The way such information is made available is under constant review. As well as traditional sources of information (such as leaflets), we have worked with funeral directors, Registrars and voluntary groups to try to ensure people are fully informed of the action to take following the loss of a husband, wife or civil partner. Further information about the benefits to which they are entitled and how to claim them can be found on the government services and information website at www.gov.uk.
Following the report of a death to the department’s ‘DWP Bereavement Service’, an eligibility check for BSP will be undertaken, and a claim can be taken over the phone. If a death is reported via the ‘Tell Us Once service’, the customer will receive a notification stating that there may be financial support available from the department. The notification includes the telephone number for DWP Bereavement Service and the gov.uk link.