Funeral wait for families left tied up in red tape

Families across Shropshire and Mid Wales have had to wait weeks to bury their relatives because of Government red tape, it was claimed today.

Funeral directors say they know of people on benefits waiting weeks for decisions from the Department for Work and Pensions about if they will receive support in paying for their funerals.

One family, of Newtown, today claimed they had been waiting nearly two months to bury a relative in Shrewsbury as the £2,450 funeral cannot go ahead until they are guaranteed support.

The 50-year-old son-in-law of the man, who died on August 13, said the family was waiting for a decision from the DWP. “It’s a lot of red tape we have got to go through,” he said. “We just want to bury our relative and have a service.”

Clive Pugh, of Clive Pugh Funeral Directors, Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, said: “This is not an isolated case. I’ve dealt with four of these in the last five months.”

Mr Pugh has called on Daniel Kawczynski to take action - with the Shrewsbury MP vowing to raise the “unacceptable” situation in Westminster.

And Aubrey Kirkham, of Aubrey Kirkham Funeral Directors, which has offices in Shrewsbury, Four Crosses and Welshpool, said: “People have to either commit to debt or wait. It is wrong they should have to wait.”

But Chris Williams, of Telford-based CJ Williams Funeral Service, said his experiences had been good. “All our claims seem to be carried through on time.”

A DWP spokeswoman expressed condolences to the Newtown family, adding that when someone applied for support it had to take their finances and circumstances into account.