HC Deb 31 March 1981 vol 2 c139
5. Mr. Hardy

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to what level the death grant would have to be raised to preserve its real value as at 1 April 1970.

The Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Security (Mrs. Lynda Chalker)

Based on the movement of the General Index of Retail Prices up to February 1981, the latest month for which a figure is available, the standard £30 grant would need to be increased to about £115 to restore the value that it had in April 1970.

Mr. Hardy

Does the Minister realise that the cost of medical certification required for cremation is now about the same as, and in certain circumstances exceeds, the value of the death grant? Bearing that in mind, and noting the enormous anxiety felt by elderly people as they watch the value of their pensions and savings diminish and the cost of funerals mount, will the Government reconsider the matter urgently?

Mrs. Chalker

The cost of cremation certificates is being reconsidered along with other matters related to the death grant. I remind the hon. Gentleman that pensioners received a 19½ per cent. increase in November 1979 and a 16½ per cent. increase last November. Many pensioners are not making the type of noises that we hear so often from the Opposition.

Mr. Freud

As the Secretary of State has told the House that 27 per cent. of the cost seems a reasonable proportion, will he take that on board when he considers the death grant?

Mrs. Chalker

Hon. Members know that the whole of the death grant is being fully reviewed. When that review is completed we can come to the House with a statement. In the meantime, I do not believe that the hon. Gentleman's suggestion is necessarily the right answer to the problem.

Mr. McCrindle

Is any consideration being given under that review to increasing the death grant to the £115 to which my hon. Friend referred, but paying it only where the next of kin of the deceased is in receipt of social security benefits?

Mrs. Chalker

That, and many other suggestions, have been made to the Government. They are all being considered.

Mr. Foulkes

Is the Minister aware that 1 million people signed a petition and made noises about the issue because they felt so strongly about it? Will the Minister refute the suggestion by the right hon. Member for Daventry (Mr. Prentice) that the Government are considering abolishing the death grant? Is she aware that that would be a slap in the face for those 1 million people?

Mrs. Chalker

I am well aware of the Dignity in Death Alliance deputation and of the million signatures on the petition. It would cost over £86 million to extend the death grant to everyone. However, I can add nothing further, until we have reached a final conclusion on the death grant.