Tory Government fails to respond to concerns from Phil that the DWP has been encouraging individuals to take on high-interest debt in order to pay for funeral costs

Phil, in a debate in Westminster on 13 October 2015, has called for an investigation into Department of Work and Pensions procedure after reports have emerged that Jobcentre staff have actively been encouraging individuals to take on debt in order to pay for rising funeral costs.

Commenting on this discrepancy between rising costs and stagnating income in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, Phil noted that:

 “According to Citizens Advice, the total cost of a funeral for people living in our constituency falls somewhere between £2,500 and £8,000. As more than half the households in [North] Lanarkshire have an annual household income of less than £20,000, the cost of a funeral in our constituency can represent more than one third of household income for many.”

Recent reports have found that 47% of individuals are forced to take out high-interest credit card debt or short-term loans to be able to pay for the cost of the funeral. This type of high-interest debt is a substantial contributing factor to the rising incidence of in-work poverty.

Commenting on the issue of funeral poverty, Phil said:

“With funeral costs rapidly rising, wages remaining stagnant, and employment remaining insecure, funeral poverty is becoming a real concern not just for those most disadvantaged, but also for everyday working individuals and families. While funeral costs have risen 80 percent since 2005, real wages for the typical worker in the UK have fallen by 10 percent since 2008. Job insecurity has remained high in the aftermath of the global financial crisis, despite claims by the current government that their policies have created new, high-quality employment opportunities. The factors that contribute to in-work poverty, such as insecure employment, zero-hours contracts, low wages, and Tory-imposed cuts to child tax credits, also contribute to funeral poverty”.

Not only are more families finding themselves forced to take on high-interest debt in order to pay for a funeral, according to findings published in The Guardian, Jobcentre staff have been actively encouraging individuals to take on debt in order to pay for funeral costs.

Commenting on this finding, Phil said during the debate:

“The fact that [Jobcentre staff] have done so when individuals have approached them at a time of desperation and emotional turmoil after the loss of a loved one is morally reprehensible and frankly unacceptable. Although the reports do not specify whether encouraging individuals to incur high-interest debt to cover the costs of a funeral is an official Department for Work and Pensions internal policy, I hope that this debate will encourage the DWP to tackle that emerging pattern, and I would appreciate a ministerial response on that particular concern.”

Phil did not receive a response from the Tory Government Minister regarding his concerns that the DWP has been encouraging individuals to take on high-interest debt in order to pay for the cost of a funeral.