§ Mr. DhandaTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps have been taken in the last 12 months to ensure that information about(a) bereavement pension and (b) bereavement payment is available as widely as possible. [135485]
§ Mr. PondInformation is available from local Jobcentre Plus and Social Security offices. and the Department for Work and Pensions website gives information about Bereavement Benefits together with leaflets and claim forms for downloading. A fully revised version of leaflet NP45 'A guide to Bereavement Benefit' for professional advisers and members of the public was published in May this year. Leaflets D49 "What to do after a death in England and Wales" and D49S "What to do after a death in Scotland" are reviewed and revised as necessary annually.
In addition, we have been working with funeral directors, Registrars and voluntary groups such as Cruse, National Association of Widows and Citizens Advice Bureaux who may be contacted by bereaved people.
We have worked with Registrars to amend the social security form for notifying the Department of a death (BD8) to draw greater attention to the fact that it can be used to initiate a claim for bereavement benefits, this went to print in April 2003 and has been in use by Registrars since then. Within the last year we have also arranged for Funeral Directors to De able to obtain Bereavement Benefit claim packs so that they can be given directly to bereaved people.
We keep under review the way that information is made available about bereavement benefits so that bereaved people, at this very difficult time in their lives, know about their potential right to benefit and can act on it at the right time.