Emma recently took part in a Westminster Hall debate on Social Fund Funeral Payments.
The soaring cost of funerals, coupled with an erosion in the value of state funeral grants, has pushed poorer families into debt and distress.
State help with funeral costs for low income families has been frozen at £700 for the past 13 years and no longer covers the cost of a simple funeral, which can be at least £1,200. Since 2004, funeral costs have risen by a staggering 80%. The average cost of a funeral in the UK is £3,702. These steep increases are predicted to rise rapidly into the future.
The rising cost of basic ceremonies and lack of state support has led to an 11% increase in Public Health Act funerals, sometimes called ‘pauper’s funerals’ in the past four years. This is where local authorities are obliged to arrange a burial or cremation if no relative is able to pay for it. But as the Government continues to force huge cuts to Local Authorities, they too will struggle to meet the demand. In March the Work and Pensions Select Committee called on the government to launch an inquiry into the funeral industry to tackle the causes of funeral cost inflation and address rising funeral poverty.
Emma has campaigned on this very serious issue since 2014 when she introduced the Funeral Services Bill, calling for the Government to carry out an overarching review of funeral affordability.
At that time, more than 100,000 people were estimated to be suffering from funeral poverty. It is a national scandal that so many people are unable to bury their loved ones or have incurred significant debts in doing so. A civilised society should ensure that everybody is able to have dignity in death; that everyone can bury their loved ones respectfully without feeling ashamed that they are unable to meet funeral costs.
In the debate Emma raised significant concerns regarding the Government’s inaction on this issue, the poor responses she has received to Ministerial correspondence and demanded the Government correct a false statement made in response to the Work and Pensions Select Committee Report.
You can read Emma’s speech here.
Speaking after the debate, Emma said,
“The Government has known about this growing problem for years now and have completely failed to act. The incompetence from the Department is staggering and me and other campaigners on this issue are losing patience. The Minster’s lacklustre response today showed that despite being new to the post, we can all expect more of the same from this uncaring Government’’.
