§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the cost of administering the death grant.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what would be the cost of abolishing the death grant for pensioners, and replacing it by continuing to pay the pension for six weeks after death.
§ Mr. OrmeThe cost in 1979–80 of abolishing the death grant for people over pension age and replacing it by paying six weeks' pension at the full standard rate for a single person—£19.50 a week—is estimated to be about £50 million. I regret that figures are not readily available which would take account of individual variations in pension rate or of the lower rate pension paid to some married women.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, for the last year for which statistics were available, how many death grants were paid 636W in respect of people of pension age; and how many in respect of people below pension age.
§ Mr. OrmeIn the year ended June 1978, the latest period for which figures are available, 440,000 death grants were paid to people over pension age and 140,000 to people under pension age.