An online summit presented by Caledonia Funeral Aid and The Poverty Alliance
With Down to Earth
A discussion around the financial support available for bereaved people experiencing hardship, and what the long-term plan should be.
Online: Wed 31 January 11am – 12:30pm
Introduced in 2019, the Funeral Support Payment currently allocates eligible residents in Scotland £1,899 on average to put towards the cost of a funeral. *
However, with the average cost of a basic funeral in Scotland coming in at nearly £4,000**, is this payment fulfilling the Scottish Government’s aim to alleviate poverty for the recently bereaved?
In addition, bereaved people in Scotland are being turned away from some Funeral Directors who refuse to take eligible Funeral Support Payment clients, due to the way the payment is administered.
The Scottish Government has certainly made gains in increasing the uptake of the payment but have no plans to revisit the amount paid, or how it is paid.
Caledonia Funeral Aid and Caledonia Cremation – a charity set up to support bereaved people facing funeral poverty in Scotland– have supported numerous clients who have still experienced hardship despite receiving the payment.
At this online summit, we will discuss real-life case studies of those who have and have not received the benefit. We will also welcome comments regarding our call to the Scottish Government to set out a long-term plan.
We will be joined by Peter Kelly from The Poverty Alliance, who will discuss the wider context in terms of how other financial benefits are designed to alleviate poverty, especially during this cost-of-living crisis. He will share his research and lessons learned, and how these could be applied to the funeral industry.
We will also be joined by Lindesay Mace from Down to Earth – the only UK-wide service for people struggling with funeral costs. They will discuss their experience of providing compassionate support to bereaved people in the depths of grief and their view on the financial support available.
This summit is aimed at:
- People who support those experiencing hardship or bereaved people. For example Citizen’s Advice, Local Authorities, Council Workers, NHS staff, Benefits and Money Advisors, Hospices, Housing Associations
- Those passionate about fighting poverty in Scotland and the UK
- Organisations, charities and third sector organisations who provide other kinds of support related to bereavement, wellbeing or poverty. E.g. Counsellors, Bereavement Agencies, Link Workers
- Policy makers and Elected Representatives.
- Think Tanks who work in the area of poverty and equality
We invite all to join us for this online discussion. Together we can achieve a Scotland free of funeral poverty.
Click here to confirm your attendance
*Social Security Scotland Statistics Funeral Support Payment: high level statistics to 30 June 2023
**Sunlife Cost of Dying Report 2023
Link to join the online summit
The summit will start at 11am prompt and a reminder of the zoom link to access is
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86458899695?pwd=djRaQkJ5eXc3eXpwWjVzMWNPM0kvZz09
Meeting ID: 864 5889 9695
Passcode: 048136
