Putting 'The Grave' into Social Policy

State Support for Funerals in Contemporary UK Society

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2115495
AutoresKate Woodthorpe (0000-0002-0642-2832, University of Bath), Hannah Rumble (0000-0002-5410-8194, University of Bath), Colby Valentine (0000-0001-9771-0401, University of Bath), Christine Valentine
Ano2013
Volume42
Fascículo3
Páginas605-622
Data de publicação2013-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0047-2794 • E-ISSN: 1469-7823
EditoraCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0047279413000068
OpenAlexW2035106854
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas11
Referências citadas16

There is a long tradition in the assessment of UK social policy of examining benefit entitlement and access, yet little attention has been paid towards benefits associated with bereavement and, in particular, what happens for those people who cannot afford a funeral and require state assistance. This is despite the fact that every year approximately one in ten deaths in the UK results in a claim to the Department for Work and Pensions' Funeral Payment for a contribution towards funeral costs. Beyond a paper in this journal over ten years ago, no research has been conducted into how the scheme is administered and what happens to those people who claim. Drawing on a study with both successful and unsuccessful Funeral Payment claimants, funeral directors and key stakeholders, this paper evaluates the Funeral Payment in terms of eligibility and entitlement, and timing and cost. It argues that closer attention needs to be paid to the issue of financial support for funerals to avoid the evolution of an unwieldy system at a time when the UK death rate is predicted to rise owing to the ageing of the population

Economic growth · Economics · Entitlement (fair division) · Payment · Political science · Population · Social policy · Sociology · State (computer science) · Work (physics) · Finance · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Health disparities and outcomes · Law · Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies