Caroline Dinenage corrected a written answer on Funeral Payments

29 November 2017 · Commons written answer · Department for Work and Pensions

Neil Coyle (Labour, Bermondsey and Old Southwark) asked written question 114829 on 21 November 2017. Caroline Dinenage answered on 28 November 2017 for the Department for Work and Pensions, and Caroline Dinenage corrected the answer on 29 November 2017. The correction replaced 12 figures (1,053, 1,081, 1,274, 1,540, 101, 1238) with 1 figure (£700). Altogether 363 words differ between the two versions.

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received on concern about the adequacy of the funeral fund to cover basic funeral costs; and whether he plans change to that fund.

Original and corrected answer

Struck through: original only. Bold: correction only.

Original	Corrected
DWP have advertised 1,053 External Vacancies since January 2015 containing 21,432 posts. The breakdown provided by Government Recruitment Services is provided as requested overleaf. It is worth considering these vacancies are not guaranteed to have been filled. These are the vacancies we advertised. Not all roles advertised were filled and therefore this data will include repeat adverts. Month \| ~~Number of Vacancies~~ \| Number of Posts Advertised Jan-15 \| 8 \| 214 Feb-15 \| 15 \| 353 Mar-15 \| 9 \| 60 Apr-15 \| 8 \| 62 May-15 \| 13 \| 54 Jun-15 \| 20 \| 311 Jul-15 \| 15 \| 326 Aug-15 \| 26 \| 1698 Sep-15 \| 15 \| 1479 Oct-15 \| 13 \| 469 Nov-15 \| 28 \| 397 Dec-15 \| 14 \| 239 Jan-16 \| 14 \| 290 Feb-16 \| 47 \| 1274 Mar-16 \| 50 \| 2107 Apr-16 \| 74 \| 1309 May-16 \| 31 \| 500 Jun-16 \| 58 \| 1081 Jul-16 \| 26 \| 214 Aug-16 \| 34 \| 804 Sep-16 \| 61 \| 1251 Oct-16 \| 50 \| 542 Nov-16 \| 34 \| 567 Dec-16 \| 5 \| 48 Jan-17 \| ~~101~~ \| 1540 Feb-17 \| 35 \| 483 Mar-17 \| 17 \| 131 Apr-17 \| 4 \| 22 May-17 \| 42 \| 891 Jun-17 \| 64 \| 1238 Jul-17 \| 24 \| 433 Aug-17 \| 21 \| 243 Sep-17 \| 18 \| 66 Oct-17 \| 30 \| 605 Nov-17 \| 29 \| 131 Total \| ~~1053~~ ~~\| 21432~~	\| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| \| The Department has had a number of discussions with representatives from the funeral industry and groups supporting bereaved people about Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments and in particular the maximum amount of £700 available for other costs. We have made clear that we will ensure that Funeral Expenses Payments continue to meet the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants. Average payments have increased year-on-year to meet these necessary costs. We have had to make difficult choices about welfare spending and it has not been possible to increase the £700 maximum for other costs. However, we have made interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans available for funeral costs in addition to Funeral Expenses Payments. We have also been carrying out reforms to the Funeral Expenses Payments Regulations which are coming into force in April 2018. The reforms focused primarily on clarifying a number of issues around eligibility and to simplify the process for claiming a Funeral Expenses Payment. The formal response to the consultation on the Reform of the Funeral Expenses Payment Regulations was published on 3 July 2017 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/656887/consultation-response-reforms-to-funeral-expenses-payments.pdf .

Original

Corrected

DWP have advertised 1,053 External Vacancies since January 2015 containing 21,432 posts. The breakdown provided by Government Recruitment Services is provided as requested overleaf. It is worth considering these vacancies are not guaranteed to have been filled.
These are the vacancies we advertised. Not all roles advertised were filled and therefore this data will include repeat adverts.
Month
| ~~Number of Vacancies~~
| Number of Posts Advertised
Jan-15
| 8
| 214
Feb-15
| 15
| 353
Mar-15
| 9
| 60
Apr-15
| 8
| 62
May-15
| 13
| 54
Jun-15
| 20
| 311
Jul-15
| 15
| 326
Aug-15
| 26
| 1698
Sep-15
| 15
| 1479
Oct-15
| 13
| 469
Nov-15
| 28
| 397
Dec-15
| 14
| 239
Jan-16
| 14
| 290
Feb-16
| 47
| 1274
Mar-16
| 50
| 2107
Apr-16
| 74
| 1309
May-16
| 31
| 500
Jun-16
| 58
| 1081
Jul-16
| 26
| 214
Aug-16
| 34
| 804
Sep-16
| 61
| 1251
Oct-16
| 50
| 542
Nov-16
| 34
| 567
Dec-16
| 5
| 48
Jan-17
| ~~101~~
| 1540
Feb-17
| 35
| 483
Mar-17
| 17
| 131
Apr-17
| 4
| 22
May-17
| 42
| 891
Jun-17
| 64
| 1238
Jul-17
| 24
| 433
Aug-17
| 21
| 243
Sep-17
| 18
| 66
Oct-17
| 30
| 605
Nov-17
| 29
| 131
Total
| ~~1053~~
~~| 21432~~

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The Department has had a number of discussions with representatives from the funeral industry and groups supporting bereaved people about Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payments and in particular the maximum amount of £700 available for other costs. We have made clear that we will ensure that Funeral Expenses Payments continue to meet the necessary costs of a cremation or burial for eligible claimants. Average payments have increased year-on-year to meet these necessary costs. We have had to make difficult choices about welfare spending and it has not been possible to increase the £700 maximum for other costs. However, we have made interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans available for funeral costs in addition to Funeral Expenses Payments.
We have also been carrying out reforms to the Funeral Expenses Payments Regulations which are coming into force in April 2018. The reforms focused primarily on clarifying a number of issues around eligibility and to simplify the process for claiming a Funeral Expenses Payment. The formal response to the consultation on the Reform of the Funeral Expenses Payment Regulations was published on 3 July 2017 and can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/656887/consultation-response-reforms-to-funeral-expenses-payments.pdf .

The question and answer on the Parliament website.

Receipt

Read from	https://questions-statements-api.parliament.uk/api/writtenquestions/questions/793044?expandMember=true
Date read	15 October 2026
SHA-256	`4fd97f126e3d73b93c903bc932c9c995dd35d1c95fceef1f0a10a4c73dfecaf6`