The Social Fund Maternity and Funeral Expenses (General) Amendment Regulations 1996

Amendment of regulation 7 of the General Regulations

5.—(1) Regulation 7 of the General Regulations(1) (entitlement to a funeral payment) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (1)(a)(i), after the words “income support,”, there shall be inserted the words “income-based jobseeker’s allowance,”.

(3) At the beginning of paragraph (1B), there shall be inserted the words “Except in a case where paragraph (1C) applies,”.

(4) After paragraph (1B), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“(1C) Paragraph (1B) shall not apply where the close relative who was in closer contact with the deceased than the responsible person, or, as the case may be, was in equally close contact with the deceased—

(a) was a child as at the date of death; and

(b) there is no other close relative (not being a child) to whom any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (1B) apply.”.

(5) In paragraph (2), after the words “Subject to” there shall be inserted the words “paragraph (6),”.

(6) In paragraph (4)—

(a) for sub-paragraph (a) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph—

“(a) in the case of a burial—

(i) the necessary costs of purchasing a new burial plot which is suitable for the deceased, together with an exclusive right of burial in that plot; and

(ii) the necessary costs of the burial;”;

(b) for head (ii) of sub-paragraph (c), there shall be substituted the following head—

“(ii) the fee payable, or the amount of any donation, to a Minister of religion and for the use of the church or other place of worship, to the extent that—

(aa) such fees or donations relate to an item or service specified in respect of a funeral or burial in the Parochial Fees Order 1995(2) or in any corresponding provision of any order made in exercise of powers conferred by section 1 of the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986(3) as may be in operation as at the date of the funeral; and

(bb) the total amount of such fees or donations does not exceed the appropriate fee specified in any such order;”.

(7) After paragraph (4), there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“(5) All references in paragraphs (3) and (4)(c)(vii), (viii) and (ix) to a distance of 50 miles shall be construed as applying to the distance of the combined outward and return journey.

(6) No funeral payment shall be made in respect of items and services specified in regulation 7(3) and (4) which have been provided on the death of the deceased under a pre-paid funeral plan.”.

(1)

Regulation 7 was amended by S.I. 1988/36, 1993/479 and 1995/1229.

(2)

S.I. 1995/1960.

(3)

1986 No. 2.