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Unburied bodies as financial crisis worsens

12/10/2008

Undertakers and funeral directors have said they have been forced to postpone the burial of bodies for weeks due to government delays in releasing funds.

Normally undertakers cover the costs of a funeral and are then reimbursed by the government, but the poor availability of credit in the financial system, coupled with what funeral directors claim is foot dragging by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), has led to burials for needy families having to be postponed.

The Mail on Sunday reports that 27,000 needy people claim a total of £46 million towards burial costs every year. The DWP's social fund disburses the money if the families do not have sufficient savings and are closely related to the deceased.

National society of allied and independent funeral directors spokesman John Weir told the Mail on Sunday: "There are hundreds of people in this situation. Funeral directors are having to take a more commercial approach in these troubled times.

"The normal gap between death and burial is about ten days, but the government's stance means it can be more like five weeks and sometimes longer.

"In these economic conditions, many directors now look to get payment in advance. The government is behind the delays and the hardship it is causing both families and funeral directors is very real," he added.

National Association of Funeral Directors chief executive Alan Slater said it frequently took weeks for the government to make a decision on whether to fund individual funerals. He added that a government freeze on the total costs of the funeral meant that families were often up to £300 short of the cost of burial, requiring either a loan or funeral directors to cover the remainder.

A DWP spokesman told the paper: 'It is obviously a difficult time for any family following the death of a relative and that's why we make sure applications are processed as quickly as possible, with the majority done in 16 days or less.

"So that we can make payments quickly and ensure they go to the people who need them most, we need the right information from people. Sometimes we may have to go back to the relative to get details they have left out which could lead to a delay."