Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of pauper's funerals in each of the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to support families on low incomes with the costs of funerals.

My department does not collect data on the number of Local Authority funerals.

The Social Fund Funeral Payment scheme continues to provide help towards a simple, respectful, low-cost funeral and in 2013/14, over 33,000 awards were made worth £44.7 million, with an average award of £1,347.

Social Fund Budgeting Loans are also available to those on income related benefits to cover costs relating to funeral expenses.