From tomorrow, the new Funeral Expense Assistance payment will become available to people who claim certain benefits in Scotland. It is a move by the Scottish Government towards eradicating funeral poverty which has pushed 1 in 7 families into debts of up to £1990.
In February 2018, national employability organisation Community Renewal started Caledonia Cremation with support from the Scottish Government in a bid to alleviate the stress of debt for people across Scotland.
They offer a Direct Cremation service for a flat fee of £995 with no upselling and no hidden fees. In addition, they help their clients apply for funeral payments and offer advice throughout the whole process.
On the eve of the benefit going live, Community Renewal’s Chief Executive Paul McColgan welcomed the Scottish Government’s efforts towards tackling an issue that has caused many families financial worry.
“We have seen first-hand the terrible stress caused by rising funeral costs on many families and individuals,” he said. “We have helped several clients whose loved ones have been lying in a morgue for months whilst they were turned away from funeral home after funeral home because they couldn’t afford the deposit required. In these instances, we collected the deceased and proceeded with the cremation without a deposit.”
On the changes, Paul believes it is a move in the right direction: “The new fund will be available to more people and it promises to be a more streamlined administration – something our bereavement advisors found not to be the case previously.
“We have experienced cases of people who qualified on paper then were only awarded a very small amount which covered less than half the cost of the funeral. The fact that it covers travel costs to and from the funeral will also be a great help to families who do not all live in the same place.”
Caledonia Cremation is ready to help any clients when the new payment is introduced tommorrow, but their CEO warned that funeral poverty still needs to be kept on the agenda:
“The average cost of a funeral in Scotland is £3537 and the amount of benefit starts with a flat fee of £700 and the maximum assistance is around £1400, leaving a shortfall of over £2000 for the basic funeral.
“We welcome the widening of the eligibility criteria but remain concerned that families experiencing in-work poverty will still face great difficulties.
“We have set our cost at a flat rate of £995 to ensure those qualifying for the FEA can meet all of their funeral costs if they qualify for the maximum assistance.
“All our bereavement advisors are fully up to date with the new system and if the client does decide to choose a Direct Cremation – then the fund will cover most, if not all our fee, leaving them free to grieve without the unnecessary worry of financial debt.”
Anyone who is struggling to cover funeral costs can call Caledonia Cremation 03000 113 311 or visit their website www.caledoniacremation.org.uk
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