§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has evaluated in respect of the scale of abuse in relation to the social fund funeral payments system. [34406]
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§ Mr. Roger EvansExpenditure escalated from £18.4 million in 1988–89 to £63 million in 1994–95; in some years, the increase was up to 6 per cent. above the rate of inflation. Changes were made to the funeral payments scheme in April 1994 and June 1995 to ensure that only those people with good cause for taking responsibility for the costs of a funeral are given help.
During 1993–94, the number of awards was 72,000, but during 1994–95 and 1995–96 this reduced to 68,000 and 62,000 respectively. During the same period, the number of claims increased from 95,000 to 98,000. Expenditure was reduced to £49 million in 1995–96.