Call for views on new Scottish funeral payment help scheme

New provision for Scots who need support to pay for a family funeral has been put out to consultation by the Scottish Government.

Its funeral expense assistance (FEA) will replace the current UK Government funeral expenses payment (more commonly known as the funeral payment) in Scotland by summer 2019, as part of the devolved social security arrangements. Providing a one-off payment to support people on low income benefits who need to pay for a funeral, it is intended to reduce the burden of debt they may face and so help to tackle funeral poverty.

Under proposed eligibility, FEA will reach around 2,000 additional people each year compared to the current funeral payment – meaning a total number of about 5,600 payments each year, costing around £3m more than the present £5.3m.

Ministers believe the current DWP system "asks questions that are intrusive and distressing", and also makes inquiries about the financial status of other family members, to which information the applicant may not have access. To avoid having to make judgements about family relationships, and to make it clearer in advance who is entitled to FEA, the Government has decided to use the family hierarchy lists from the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 as part of the process to determine eligibility.

Financially, eligibility will be dependent on the applicant (or their partner) being in receipt of specified UK Government benefits or tax credits.

The benefit would comprise the costs of burial or cremation, including any necessary certificates, plus a flat rate payment towards expenses such as funeral director fees and a coffin.

Draft funeral expense assistance regulations have been published to help identify any gaps, issues or unintended consequences. The consultation also asks questions on some specific points about the effects of these regulations – including the potential impacts of FEA on different groups and also on businesses. 

The paper also states that work is underway on the design of the new Social Security Scotland. This will be headquartered in Dundee, will have a further site of similar size in Glasgow and "a strong local presence with a human face" to improve accessibility and support. This will also ensure that at least 400 jobs are spread across Scotland.

Click here to access the consultation. The deadline for responses is 23 August 2018.