Press Release
Poor People Need Help With Funeral Expenses
Local MP Tom Clarke initiated a Debate in the House of Commons where he urged the Government to intervene ending the shameful feelings of relatives who may have had the most unfortunate experience of having a member of their own family who was too poor to die.
The MP said: “We can fix almost anything where there is a determination to do so, but death is final. When a person dies, people are saddened; when a relative or a close friend dies, we are emotional - in many cases, absolutely devastated. When we are in such a state of shock and there is no money to bury a relative, we do not have time to grieve properly because we are anxious to avoid the embarrassing humiliation of a funeral without dignity. If I can be entirely open, people are not comfortable about discussing matters relating to death. I fully understand their reluctance to do so, as nothing is more emotive than bereavement. Making funeral arrangements is not a simple task: it is complex, but, more importantly, it is costly, and ever increasingly so”.
During the debate Mr Clarke highlighted specific areas such as: accessibility, eligibility and the level of funeral payments. On accessibility, he stated, “I want to congratulate North Lanarkshire Council. In partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions new benefit packs were made available in registration offices - a perfectly reasonable proposition, given that when a family is bereaved; one of the first places it has to visit is the local registry office in order to register the death. This initiative was designed to help people access social fund funeral expenses. If constituents on low incomes need to claim funeral benefit, we need to ensure that the service is easily accessible”.
Mr Clarke said one funeral director told him:“One of the biggest problems is when the relatives actually think they are entitled to a payment but don’t qualify. It then turns out they are responsible for payment of the total funeral account. In these situations the demeanour of families can be aggressive towards Funeral services staff”. However the MP was fulsome in his praise for local funeral directors the Co-operative Funeralcare, Donald McLaren and Joseph Potts. The MP condemned the practice of funeral directors who demanded a down payment of between £440 and £675 before they will take a deceased person’s remains into their care. Although he clearly spelled out this did not refer to the local funeral services.
The social fund is the main political concern within the funeral industry. Funeral directors believe that it is unfair to include their fees in a price cap that is frozen for uncertain periods of time with no formula in existence to increase the cap or reflect the increase in inflation. Moreover, the £700 price cap, which has not increased since April 2003, does not take into account the cost of a simple funeral. There is uncertainty over what “Other Funeral Expenses” includes.
The MP argued that, “The funeral industry’s concerns are that the retail price index has increased by 16.4% since April 2003, and the average cost of a simple funeral in March 2007 was £1,050.70. There are a number of potential solutions that the Government could introduce to resolve the current situation. They could immediately increase the £700 price cap in order to reflect the cost of a simple funeral. They could provide clarity to the funeral industry, Department for Work and Pensions staff and the bereaved as to what is included in the price cap. I respectfully urge the Minster to conduct a review of the present rate of funeral payments awarded through the social fund, and then to draw a comparison with the average funeral costs. It would be extremely beneficial to consult local authorities, and particularly the National Association of Funeral Directors. Only by engaging in such a meaningful process are we likely to ascertain the true scale of difference and then, and only then, can we begin to bridge the gap in the evident shortfall”.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mr. James Plaskitt replied by saying, “there are big regional variations in add-on costs and that currently there is considerable complexity in the scheme that makes it difficult for those claiming a funeral payment, or their funeral director, to work out what they might be entitled to, or indeed even generally navigate the system. I am keen to try to address those concerns. I have asked my officials to consider over the summer how we might better target the help available”.
“Although the social fund funeral payment scheme has its detractors - I believe that it plays an important role in social security safety net provision. It is right that we exercise control on expenditure in this area, but it is also right that we continue to provide, for most customers, a funeral payment that meets the full costs of burial or cremation and goes a significant way to meeting funeral directors’ costs. I accept that there are some weaknesses in the scheme as it currently operates, and I am examining ways of addressing them. I hope to be in a position to say more about that in the not too distant future”.