§ Mr. Foulkesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many people received single payments towards funeral expenses during 1983, as described by paragraphs 9.9 and 9.10 of the "Supplementary Benefits Handbook"; at what average level; and what overall cost.
§ Mr. WhitneyThis information is not yet available for 1983. According to the annual statistical inquiry conducted in December 1982, about 12,500 single payments of supplementary benefit were made for funeral expenses in 1982. The average payment was about £210 and the overall cost was about £2.6 million. Because these figures relate to single payments made during the 12 months preceding the date of the inquiry to people still in receipt of supplementary benefit at the time of the inquiry, they are an under-estimate of the total number of overall cost of such payments made during the year.