Funeral Support Payment is a benefit delivered by

Social Security Scotland Social Security Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''Tèarainteachd Shòisealta Alba'') is an executive agency of the Scottish Government with responsibility for social security provision. History The devolved Scottish Parliament was established in 199 ...

. The benefit is aimed at reducing funeral poverty in Scotland by providing people who receive certain benefits or tax credits with a payment that can be used to help pay funeral costs, burial or cremation costs, travel costs, and medical costs. The amount of each payment is dependent upon which local authority the person who died resided in. If the person who died left any money or had an insurance policy, this can also impact the total amount paid.

Origin

Social Security Scotland was established in April 2018 following the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018. Social Security Scotland delivers certain areas of social security policy that was devolved to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holy ...

after the

Scotland Act 2016 The Scotland Act 2016 (c. 11) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland. The legislation is based on recommendations given by the report of the Smi ...

Funeral Support Payment

On 16 September 2019, Funeral Support Payment replaced the UK's

funeral payment Funeral payments are a social security payment in the United Kingdom that are part of the Social Fund. They are to help with the costs of a funeral. To be eligible for a funeral payment, a claimant or their partner must be in receipt of one of the ...

in Scotland. The benefit widened the eligibility of the UK's funeral payment, allowing more people to apply for it. It also increased the flat rate of the payment to take into account inflation.

Eligibility

To be eligible for Funeral Support Payment, the person applying must be in receipt of one of the following benefits: * Universal Credit * Child Tax Credit * Working Tax Credit * Income Support * Pension Credit * Housing Benefit * Income-based Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) * Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) The person applying for the payment must also be responsible for the costs of the funeral. Further to this, the person who died must have lived in the UK and the application can be made from their date of death, up to 6 months after the funeral.

References

{{Reflist Social security in the United Kingdom