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 payments were made in each year between 2015 and 2018; how many such applications were refused; and what the (a) average and (b) lowest payment that was made.

As the calendar year 2018 is incomplete at the time of response, figures for 2018 are not included in the tables below.

Table 1 provides the number of Funeral Expenses Payments (FEP) applications received and the number of initial refusals in each year between 2015 and 2017.

Table 1: FEP applications received and initial refusals, 2015-2017

Source: Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Notes to table 1:

• Figures are 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.

• These figures do not include applications which were processed clerically and have not been entered on to the Social Fund Computer System.

• Figures on applications made are based on applications received by DWP, not applications processed. Some applications may have been withdrawn before a decision was made.

• 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.

• 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)

Table 2 provides the average FEP award in each year 2015-2017.

Table 2: Average FEP award, 2015-2017

Source: Policy, Budget and Management Information System

Notes to table 2:

• Figures are rounded to the nearest £10.

• The average award figures relate to the average payment net of returned payments (including appeals). This is calculated by taking the total value of payments in a given year (net of returned payments) and dividing by the total number of payments in a given year, as recorded in the Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

• These averages include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal following an initial refusal.

Data on the lowest FEP award in the years 2015-2018 is not collated centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.