More than £17m given to families to help with burial costs

More than £17m has been given to hard-up Scots to help with the cost of burying a loved one since new Funeral Support Payments were introduced.

The scheme opened for applications in September 2019, and between then and the end of June this year, 9865 payments have been made.

As people on certain benefits are eligible for help with the costs for either a burial or cremation, Social Security Scotland has received some 14,700 applications for a payment.

Of the applications that have been processed, almost four out of five were authorised, with £17,030,410 awarded in total.

Figures published by the Scottish Government showed that the average amount issued so far for 2021-22 is £1804 – up from an average of £1791 the previous year.

While applications for financial help have been received from all of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas, the largest number is from Glasgow City, with 3085 made so far, followed by North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire, with 1425 and 1070 respectively.

Payments worth £3.9m have been made to people in Glasgow, with £1.8m going to applicants in North Lanarkshire and £1.3m in South Lanarkshire.

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