Blog: First Funeral Support Payments total £2.3million
New figures have been published by Social Security Scotland about the newly devolved ‘Funeral Support Payment’ benefit and how it has been used in its first few months.
This is a one off payment to help those on low incomes to help meet the costs of a funeral. Research has shown that the cost of funerals are inconsistent across the country and can cost as much as £7,000. There has been so much concern about the rising costs of funerals that the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is undertaking an in-depth market investigation into the funeral sector.
Funeral Support Payments, therefore, have an important role to play to help those most at risk of falling into debt at what must be an already extremely difficult time. That’s why its great to see that 2,730 people applied for Funeral Support Payment between 16 September 2019 to 31 January 2020, and 2,355 applicants had been processed with 78% being authorised, 13% denied, and 9% withdrawn.
One of the interesting findings from this publication is that of the 2,730 applications received, the majority (57%) were made by telephone. Over one third were made online and the remaining (6%) were made by paper application. This breakdown shows just how important it is for there to a variety of different ways of applying for social security. With digital exclusion a real problem for the half a million older people in Scotland who do not use the internet, being able to make an application by phone or by post helps to ensure that social security is accessible to all.
The Scottish Government has also recently announced that the part of this payment which helps with the cost of a funeral, such as funeral director fees, a coffin, and flowers is to increase from £700 to £1000 as of 1st April 2020. We have called for this to be increased since its introduction and are delighted that it is now going to happen.
That’s not to say that everything is perfect when it comes to the newly devolved benefits in Scotland. Right now it’s hard to know exactly what goods like in Scotland, but the approach so far must be welcomed and Age Scotland looks forward to seeing more devolved benefits be delivered with dignity, fairness, and respect.
