The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Regulations 2005

Funeral payments: entitlement

7.—(1) In these Regulations—

(a) “funeral payment” means a social fund payment to meet funeral expenses of a deceased person;

(b) “responsible person” means the person who accepts responsibility for the funeral expenses.

(2) Subject to regulation 8, a funeral payment shall be made where each of the conditions referred to in paragraphs (3) to [F1 (9A)] is satisfied.

(3) The first condition is that, in respect of the date of the claim for a funeral payment, the responsible person or his partner is a person to whom paragraph (4) applies.

(4) This paragraph applies to a person—

(a) who has an award of—

(i) income support,

(ii) state pension credit,

(iii) income-based jobseeker's allowance,

(iv) working tax credit where the disability element or the severe disability element of working tax credit as specified in regulation 20(1)(b) and (f) of the Working Tax Credit (Entitlement and Maximum Rate) Regulations 2002 is included in the award,

(v) child tax credit [F2 which includes an individual element or a disability element referred to in section 9(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002],

(vi) housing benefit, F3 ...

F4 (vii) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F5 (viii) income-related employment and support allowance; F6 ...]

[F7 (ix) universal credit;] [F8 or

(x) owner-occupier loan payments and is treated as entitled to a benefit specified in sub-paragraphs (i) to (iii) and (viii).]

F9 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5) The second condition is that the deceased was ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom at the date of his death.

(6) The third condition is that the claim is made within the prescribed time for claiming a funeral payment.

(7) The fourth condition is that the claimant is the responsible person or the partner of the responsible person.

(8) The fifth condition is that—

(a) the responsible person was the partner of the deceased at the date of death; or

(b) in a case where the deceased was a child and—

(i) there is no absent parent, or

(ii) there is an absent parent who, or whose partner, is a person to whom paragraph (4) applied as at the date of death,

the responsible person was the person, or the partner of the person, responsible for that child for the purposes of Part IX of the Act as at the date of death; or

(c) in a case where the deceased was a still-born child, the responsible person was a parent, or the partner of a parent, of that still-born child as at the date when the child was still-born; or

(d) in a case where the deceased had no partner and neither sub-paragraph (b) nor (c) applies, the responsible person was an immediate family member of the deceased and it is reasonable for the responsible person to accept responsibility for those expenses; or

(e) in a case where the deceased had no partner and none of sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) applies, the responsible person was either—

(i) a close relative of the deceased, or

(ii) a close friend of the deceased,

and it is reasonable for the responsible person to accept responsibility for the funeral expenses.

(9) The sixth condition is that the funeral takes place—

(a) in a case where paragraph (10) applies, in a member State of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, [F10 Norway, Switzerland or the United Kingdom];

(b) in any other case, in the United Kingdom.

[F11 (9A) The seventh condition is that the claimant lives in England and Wales.]

[F12 (10) This paragraph applies where the responsible person or the responsible person's partner is—

(a) a qualified person within the meaning of regulation 6(1)(b) (worker) or (c) (self-employed person) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 (the EEA Regulations);

(b) a person who retains the status referred to in sub-paragraph (a) pursuant to regulation 6(2) or (4) of the EEA Regulations;

(c) a person who is a family member of a person referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) within the meaning of regulation 7(1) of the EEA Regulations; or

(d) a person who has a right to reside permanently in the United Kingdom by virtue of regulation 15(1)(c), (d) or (e) of the EEA Regulations;

(e) a person granted indefinite leave to enter, or remain in, the United Kingdom under the Immigration Act 1971 by virtue of Appendix EU to the immigration rules made under section 3(2) of that Act.]

[F13 (11) References in this regulation to the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2016 are to be read with Schedule 4 to the Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Regulations 2020.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Word in reg. 7(2) substituted (coming into force in accordance with art. 1(2)(b) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Funeral Expense Assistance and Early Years Assistance) (Consequential Modifications and Savings) Order 2019 (S.I. 2019/1060), art. 3(4)(a) (with art. 4)

F2 Words in reg. 7(4)(a)(v) substituted (6.4.2017) by The Social Fund (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/271), regs. 1(2), 3(3)

F3 Word in reg. 7(4)(a)(vi) omitted (27.10.2008) by virtue of Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) (No.2) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1554), regs. 1(2)(b), 8(4)(a)

F4 Reg. 7(4)(a)(vii) omitted (1.4.2013) by virtue of The Social Fund (Maternity and Funeral Expenses) Amendment Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/247), regs. 1(2), 2(5)(a)

F5 Reg. 7(4)(a)(viii) inserted (27.10.2008) by Employment and Support Allowance (Consequential Provisions) (No.2) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1554), regs. 1(2)(b), 8(4)(b)

F6 Word in reg. 7(4)(a) omitted by S.I. 2017/725, Sch. 5 para. 9(4)(a) (as inserted) (6.4.2018) by virtue of The Loans for Mortgage Interest and Social Fund Maternity Grant (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/307), regs. 1(2), 2(18)(e)

F7 Reg. 7(4)(a)(ix) added (1.4.2013) by The Social Fund (Maternity and Funeral Expenses) Amendment Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/247), regs. 1(2), 2(5)(b)

F8 Reg. 7(4)(a)(x) inserted by S.I. 2017/725, Sch. 5 para. 9(4)(b) (as inserted) (6.4.2018) by The Loans for Mortgage Interest and Social Fund Maternity Grant (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/307), regs. 1(2), 2(18)(e)

F9 Reg. 7(4)(b) omitted (1.4.2013) by virtue of The Social Fund (Maternity and Funeral Expenses) Amendment Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/247), regs. 1(2), 2(5)(c)

F10 Words in reg. 7(9)(a) substituted (E.W.) (15.2.2021) by The Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/65), regs. 1(2), 2(2)

F11 Reg. 7(9A) inserted (coming into force in accordance with art. 1(2)(b) of the amending S.I.) by The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Funeral Expense Assistance and Early Years Assistance) (Consequential Modifications and Savings) Order 2019 (S.I. 2019/1060), art. 3(4)(b) (with art. 4)

F12 Reg. 7(10) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 62(2)(a)

F13 Reg. 7(11) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Act 2020 (Consequential, Saving, Transitional and Transitory Provisions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1309), regs. 1(2), 62(2)(b)