Funeral Expense Assistance (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024: islands communities impact assessment

Islands Community Impact Assessment: The Funeral Expense Assistance (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024

Introduction

The importance of island-proofing was recognised in the "Empowering Scotland's Island prospectus" published in June 2014. The principle of island-proofing is one of building a broad-based islands awareness into the decision-making process of all parts of the public sector.

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers and other relevant authorities, including a number of public authorities, to have regard to island communities in exercising their functions, and for the Scottish Ministers this also includes the development of legislation.^[1] This duty is often referred to as 'island-proofing'.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of island-proofing and committed to island-proofing the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (the 2018 Act)^[2] in advance of the Islands Act placing a formal requirement to do so. The Scottish Government is also committed to island-proofing the legislation required in support of the delivery of social security powers in Scotland.

If Scottish Ministers are of the opinion that any piece of proposed legislation is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities, then the duty to island-proof legislation requires Scottish Ministers to:

• describe the likely significantly different effect of the legislation;
• assess the extent to which Scottish Ministers consider that the legislation can be developed in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation; and
• set out the financial implications of steps taken under this subsection to mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from the legislation.

Step One – Develop a clear understanding of your objectives

What are the objectives of the policy, strategy, or service?

The purpose of these amendment regulations is to introduce improvements to the Funeral Expense Assistance, which is more commonly known as Funeral Support Payment (FSP). The amendments will help support bereaved people by introducing changes that will make FSP more equitable. These changes will also future proof the regulations to allow FSP to be awarded for a funeral which involves alkaline hydrolysis and ensure the regulations reflect policy intent. The Scottish Government published their consultation analysis report on alkaline hydrolysis in April 2024.^[3] Alkaline hydrolysis is also available outside the UK and this change to regulations will allow FSP to be awarded, assuming all other eligibility criteria are met.

The improvements were identified following the publication of the FSP evaluation on 1 July 2022^[4] and through discussions with internal and external stakeholders. When FSP was first implemented in Scotland, DWP regulations for Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) were largely replicated under the safe and secure approach to transition of legislation.

This Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) has been developed to accompany the regulations. The focus of this ICIA is on the changes that these amendment regulations will make to FSP. This impact assessment builds on the suite of impact assessments that were produced prior to the launch of FSP.^[5][6][7][8]

A corresponding Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), a Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA), an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) and a Children's Rights and Wellbeing Impact assessment (CRWIA) have also been produced. A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was not required for this set of amendment regulations.

Policy Background

Funeral Support Payment

The Scottish Government replaced the DWP Funeral Expense Payment (FEP) in Scotland with Funeral Support Payment (FSP) in September 2019. This is a one-off payment for eligible people on a low income to help towards the costs of a funeral. The benefit is intended to help alleviate the burden of debt clients may face when paying for a funeral and help to reduce funeral poverty.

FSP is made up of 3 parts:

1) burial or cremation costs,

2) a flat rate payment for 'other funeral costs' at either -

• the standard rate of £1,257.75 for other expenses for most clients; or
• £153.50 if the person who died had a pre-paid funeral plan

3) other costs can include travel costs incurred by clients; transport costs to transfer the body of the deceased and some document costs and medical costs

FSP targets support to bereaved individuals on a low income. The client, or their partner, must be in receipt of a low-income qualifying benefit. The qualifying benefits are used as a proxy for means testing and are also used to check other criteria such as identity and residency.

To meet FSP eligibility criteria, it must be deemed reasonable for the client, or the partner of the client, to have accepted financial responsibility for the funeral. The client does not need to be the nearest relative of the deceased if it is considered reasonable for the client to have accepted responsibility for the costs of the funeral. The application must be made within 6 months of the funeral taking place. This deadline can be extended by 20 working days if the client or their partner is in receipt of a backdated qualifying benefit, which falls within the 6-month application window and is also within 3 months of the client being informed of the backdated award.

Between launching on 16 September 2019 to 30 June 2024, more than 30,000 FSP applications have been authorised. Providing £51.1 million of support to almost 27,000 bereaved people at a time when they need it most, with £3.1 million paid out in the 2024/25 financial year.^[9]

Policy Changes – Summary

We are introducing the following changes to FSP regulations:

• Allow full application of a reasonability test when a person has been buried or cremated outwith the area in which they resided, but the place of the funeral is in the United Kingdom, to allow reasonable costs to be awarded and a consistent approach regardless of where a person is buried or cremated.
• Extend provision to allow Funeral Support Payment to be awarded in exceptional circumstances if a funeral is held outwith the UK and an award is not allowable under current regulations. This provision will have no restrictions relating to the nationality of deceased or location of funeral, but costs will be restricted. Normal residency rules of the client being resident in Scotland and the deceased being resident in the UK, will be applied.
• To ensure citizens who would have been entitled to support for funerals abroad (EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) prior to 31 December 2020, when the implementation period (IP) following the UK exit from the EU ended, continue to be entitled. This group includes Irish citizens and EU/EEA or Swiss nationals who have obtained leave to remain in the UK by means other than the EU settlement scheme, and those who have applied under the EU settlement scheme and are awaiting a decision – the scope of this provision also captures joining family members in the first 3 months of residence.
• Introduce a change to deduct any available assets of the deceased, including assets available with confirmation and pre-paid funeral plans, that can be used for funeral costs from the award of Funeral Support Payment in all cases.
• Amend the definition of funeral to include provision for means of disposal of human remains by alkaline hydrolysis. The Scottish Government published their consultation analysis report on alkaline hydrolysis in April 2024.^[10] Alkaline hydrolysis is available outside the UK and the first funeral involving alkaline hydrolysis in Europe is understood to have taken place in Ireland in September 2023.

Policy Aims – Detail

The Funeral Expense Assistance (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024 will introduce a number of changes.

Change 1: Applying a reasonability test when a person has been buried or cremated outwith the area in which they resided and the place of the funeral is in the United Kingdom.

When current FSP regulations were drafted, the intention was to avoid excessive travel and transport costs. The general policy intent of Funeral Support Payment is to provide low-income families with help towards funeral costs, based on what is deemed reasonable. Reasonableness is applied to most elements of an FSP award - apart from when the funeral is held outwith the area in which the deceased resided. Current regulations state that no additional costs will be awarded if the deceased is buried outside the area where they were ordinarily resident.

Operationally, "the area in which the deceased was ordinarily resident" has been interpreted as "local authority area". This has caused issues as some local authority areas do not have crematoriums meaning that the funeral would have to take place outwith the local authority area if the deceased was to be cremated. We recognised that this disadvantaged clients if they choose or need to have a funeral that involves a burial or cremation outside the area in which the deceased resided.

Current regulations disadvantage some clients when they choose or need to use a crematorium or burial ground outwith the deceased's local authority area. The closest crematorium or burial ground is not always within the local authority area where the deceased was ordinarily resident. The reasonability test will ensure a consistent approach is used regardless of where the funeral took place.

The cost comparison will continue for funerals which take place outside the UK. If a cost comparison cannot take place, for example there is no crematorium in the deceased's local authority area, reasonability will apply based on the costs the client is likely to incur for that type of funeral in Scotland.

Change 2: Allow FSP to be awarded for a funeral outside the UK in exceptional circumstances and an award is not allowable under current regulations.

We have identified scenarios where we want to review FSP provisions for funerals abroad. We were made aware of an application that met the policy intent for a FSP award but fell outwith the current regulations. The funeral took place in an EU country, but as the client was not exercising their freedom of movement as a worker or self-employed person, in line with EU rules at that time, they were not eligible for FSP. The client would have been eligible for FSP if the funeral had taken place in the UK.

The new exceptional circumstances provision will have no restrictions relating to the nationality of deceased or location of funeral, but costs will be restricted. Normal residency rules of the client being resident in Scotland and the deceased being resident in the UK, will be applied. This will ensure that bereaved clients, who meet the policy intent and are incurring unexpected costs for a funeral outside the UK, are entitled to FSP support if a funeral takes place outside the UK in exceptional circumstances. We will also retain the existing provision for funerals in EU/EEA or Switzerland.

Change 3: Ensure that citizens who would have been entitled to support for funerals abroad (EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland) prior to 31 December 2020, when the implementation period following the UK exit from the EU ended, continue to be entitled.

Current regulations do not bring EU/EEA/Swiss citizens who have taken another legal route to enter and remain in the UK within the scope of Funeral Support Payment for a funeral in EU/EEA or Switzerland. Our proposed changes to regulations will ensure that EU/EEA/Swiss citizens, who arrived in the UK before 31 December 2020 and have a legal route other than the EU Settlement Scheme, have the same entitlement to a funeral in EU/EEA or Switzerland as persons with rights under the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement. This provision also covers those who have applied the EU settlement scheme and are awaiting a decision – the scope of this provision also captures joining family members in the first 3 months of residence.

Change 4: Introduce a change to explicitly deduct any available funds or contributions of the deceased, including assets available with confirmation and pre-paid funeral plans, that can be used for funeral costs from the award of Funeral Support Payment in all cases.

FSP regulations, specifically regulation 11, state that a person is not entitled to FSP if assets of the deceased person, aged 18 or over, are available and sufficient to meet the costs of a funeral. This includes any lump sum, insurance policy, occupational pension scheme, burial club, pre-paid funeral plan or similar scheme.

To ensure regulation 11 is considered, Social Security Scotland guidance states that if £8,000 or more of funds have, or will be received from the estate, the client is not entitled to FSP. This figure was chosen as it is above the average amount awarded for FSP, to ensure a fair assessment of available assets. Current regulations allow for a funeral to take place anywhere in the UK and, in limited circumstances, in EU/EEA and Switzerland. The limit of £8,000 could disadvantage clients if the funeral takes place in an area where funeral costs are typically higher.

Regulation 14, which relates to deductions from an award of FSP, covers any funds or contributions that are available towards meeting the cost of a funeral. This includes;

• assets of the deceased person, available without confirmation
• insurance policy, occupational pension scheme, burial club or similar scheme
• a funeral grant, made out of public funds, in respect of the deceased person having been entitled to a war disablement pension

We will update regulation 14 to ensure that assets available with confirmation and pre-paid funeral plans are included. Allowing for these items to be deducted from an award of FSP.

If a client is eligible and there is less than £8,000 in available funds towards meeting the cost of a funeral, then the available funds amount is deducted under regulation 14 and a nil award issued if the funds available to the client exceed the FSP award.

If the total cost of the funeral was more than £8,000 and there are £8,000 or more available funds towards meeting the costs of the funeral, we could potentially disadvantage the client by denying the application. Removing regulation 11 will not change the policy intent as we will make changes to regulation 14 to ensure all available funds will be considered, potentially leading to a nil award if sufficient funds are available.

Change 5: Amend the definition of funeral to include provision for means of disposal of human remains by alkaline hydrolysis. The Scottish Government published their consultation analysis report on alkaline hydrolysis in April 2024. Alkaline hydrolysis is available outside the UK and the first funeral involving alkaline hydrolysis in Europe is understood to have taken place in Ireland in September 2023.

The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018^[11] requires that a definition of "funeral" is included in the Funeral Expense Assistance regulations, for the purpose of determining entitlement to FSP. Currently the definition of "funeral" means a burial or cremation of a deceased person or a still-born child.

The Scottish Government published their consultation analysis report on alkaline hydrolysis in April 2024.^[12] If alkaline hydrolysis is introduced as a regulated method of disposal of human remains, an FSP award cannot currently be awarded as alkaline hydrolysis does not fall within the definition of "funeral" in our regulations.

Although the Scottish Government published their consultation analysis report for the introduction of disposal of human remains by means of alkaline hydrolysis in Scotland in April 2024, it should be noted that alkaline hydrolysis is available outside the UK and became available in Ireland in September 2023. The proposal to extend FSP provisions for funerals which involve alkaline hydrolysis would future proof the FSP regulations for Scotland, in the event of alkaline hydrolysis becoming a regulated form of body disposal. This would also allow us to award FSP for a funeral which included alkaline hydrolysis outside Scotland, assuming all eligibility criteria are met. We will continue to work with Health and Social Care colleagues following the publication of the consultation analysis report on alkaline hydrolysis in April 2024, to establish if alkaline hydrolysis will be introduced as a regulated method of body disposal in Scotland and if so, when it is likely to be introduced.

Including alkaline hydrolysis in the definition of funeral ensures FSP policy is equitable. We want to ensure that we can award FSP to clients if alkaline hydrolysis is introduced as a regulated method of body disposal and they choose this type of funeral. There is a risk we may influence a client's choice of funeral if alkaline hydrolysis is not specified within the Funeral Expense Assistance (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2024, and this is not the policy intent.

We also reached out to NAFD to put out an information piece in their Funeral Director Monthly newsletter about the proposed changes to FSP. Their newsletter goes out to over 800 members and will allow us to generate further feedback on these proposals. The piece was published in January 2024 and members have been encouraged to share both positive and negative feedback. We will continue to monitor feedback received and update accordingly as part of our impacting.

Information relating to island communities

The forms of assistance provided by Social Security Scotland are provided to people on low incomes, people with disabilities, or people with unpaid caring responsibilities.

In 2011, island residents reported their general health as marginally better than the Scotland population as a whole: 83% of island residents reported their health as being 'Very good' or 'Good' compared with 82% for Scotland as a whole. Amongst the island groups, this proportion ranged from 59% in Flotta to 98% in Easdale.

Much of this variation is likely to be associated with the age profile of island populations – nationally the proportion of the population reporting their general health as 'Very good' or 'Good' was 97% for those aged under 25 compared with
48% and 35% respectively for those aged 75 to 84 and aged 85 and over.^[13]

Social Security Scotland publishes information on its client base for the various forms of assistance it delivers, including analysis by local authority area.^[14] The figures are not however broken down into mainland and island groupings, as some local authorities cover some islands and some parts of the mainland.

What are the intended impacts/outcomes and how do these potentially differ across the islands?

Island Specific Impacts

• Increased flexibility and choice for low income families to bury or cremate a loved one outwith a local authority area. Where cremation is the preferred choice, a client previously may not have opted for this if a crematorium was not available in their area, as is the case in most island communities. This change will allow for clients to have greater autonomy and choice and be able to use the service of a crematorium with a reasonability test. Ultimately, more low income families will be able to receive the type of funeral they want.
• Introducing alkaline hydrolysis in the definition of funeral which if introduced as a regulated method of body disposal, will allow for greater choice of options for a client and potentially be a greener and cheaper option for people in the islands and rural communities. The increased flexibility to bury or cremate a loved one outwith a local authority area will mean the choice of alkaline hydrolysis could also be available to people in island and rural communities, as these facilities are unlikely to be built in areas with low populations. If alkaline hydrolysis is regulated in Scotland, clients who choose this method will be able to apply for FSP.

Step Two – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders

What data is available about the current situation in the islands?

The changes we are introducing are technical and procedural changes for FSP and as such there is limited data available on these specific aspects in the islands. General data is available on points related to funerals, poverty and access to funerals in island areas.

Islands and funeral costs

• There is limited evidence available on funeral costs specifically for Scottish islands and in remote or rural areas.
• In Scotland, the average cost of a funeral has begun to rise (after a lull during the pandemic) at the cost £4,030, an increase of 4.7% compared to 2022 costs.^[15]
• Burials generally have lower costs for burial charges in island authorities than other areas of Scotland.
• Of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, 21 have at least one crematoria.
• A key difference between islands and other parts of Scotland is that there are no crematoriums on any of Scotland's islands, which can limit a person's choice of funeral type to burial only. Typically this is more expensive than a cremation.

Poverty

• We know that in the UK, 2 in 5 people are being impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and say that organising or paying for a funeral is more challenging.^[16]
• Funeral Support Payment is intended to help reduce funeral poverty. On average, rates of poverty tend to be lower in rural areas. However, the barriers to leaving poverty may be greater for those in rural areas.
• Citizens Advice Scotland have identified issues of grid, utilities, digital and travel as key barriers for people in accessible rural, remote rural and remote small towns.^[17]

Access

• We know that access to services and support can be more difficult. It is suggested that poverty in rural areas may be more isolating in its impact, due to the greater visibility of individuals within rural communities and a rural ideal of self-reliance, i.e. getting things done for yourself. Poor adults in remote rural areas have also been found to report a low sense of support.^[18]
• Transport costs are significantly higher for Scottish island residents when compared to urban UK transport costs. The Scottish Government provide concessionary ferry vouchers to those who are eligible to enable them to take journeys to the mainland.
• FSP can help support with travel costs to funerals and one of the amendments we are making will allow for the option to have a funeral to take place outwith a local authority.

Stigma

• Through previous user research and experience panels conducted when designing FSP, Best Start Grant and Young Carers Grant,^[19] we have found that there is a danger of stigma hindering applications for benefits, particularly in more rural communities.
• The Scottish Government is committed to increasing awareness of all social security benefits, including FSP and will continue to work with National Stakeholder Engagement to ensure we are reaching island and rural communities and increase uptake.

Who are your key stakeholders?

There has been extensive policy engagement with stakeholders since the launch of FSP and we continue to engage with stakeholders as we develop this benefit further. Our stakeholders include the Funeral Poverty and Funeral Support Payment Reference Group,^[20] third sector organisations, funeral directors, funeral home organisations, Local Authority councils, Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF)and the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD). For the purposes of the ICIA we have engaged with local councils in island communities.

How does any existing data differ between islands?

The changes we are introducing are technical and procedural changes for FSP and as such there is limited data available on these specific aspects. For the changes proposed in these regulations, no differences have been identified between islands.

Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?

While not directly within the scope of these amendment regulations efforts have been made to ensure that FSP is accessible for residents of island communities. The work around connectivity and access outlined below will help to ensure that people on island communities are aware of the planned changes to the regulations.

Connectivity and access

• We know from FSP evaluation^[21] that the application form is considered straightforward to complete but that some people can encounter issues when applying for the benefit itself, for example, their level of English can make the application difficult or discover FSP online but do not feel digitally confident to complete the application online.
• To help mitigate this, Social Security Scotland operate a multi-channel approach where an application can be made online, by phone or by post. Clients can also request translator services for phone calls and letters in over 100 different languages including Gaelic, which may be beneficial to some island communities, particularly those residing in the Western Isles, Highlands and Argyll and Bute.
• In 2021, Social Security Scotland set up a Local Delivery service made up of specially trained Client Support Advisers that are based within every local authority area, including our Island communities.

Cost of living

• Funeral costs have risen significantly over the past 10 years, these amendments will help to widen eligibility and provide support to individuals and low-income families during an especially difficult time.
• The Scottish Government understands that bereavement is a challenging time for people and we continuously promote Funeral Support Payment through a range of online and offline channels, including media, social media, radio and digital. We also work with Funeral Directors and stakeholders to increase their awareness of the payment so they can support people who might need help to pay for funeral costs.

• Communication and engagement plans are based on based on robust insight, which ensures our activity reaches and resonates with eligible people, that key messages are crafted to maximise engagement and the channels utilised are as impactful as possible to encourage eligible people to apply for financial support.

Step Three - Consultation

Is there any information already gathered through previous engagements?

Yes – an ICIA has previously been completed on introduction of FSP, previously referred to as Funeral Expense Assistance^[22]. In developing FSP, the Scottish Government worked extensively with stakeholders for 3 years prior to launch and continues to work with stakeholders in the Funeral Support Payment and Funeral Poverty Reference Group to raise awareness of FSP. This includes stakeholders from the funeral industry, the third sector and local authorities such as COSLA, the NHS and faith groups.

How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales?

Public meetings/Local Authorities/key Stakeholders

Over the course of 2023/24, stakeholder engagement sessions relating to FSP amendments were arranged and involved various stakeholders across Scotland.

The Funeral Poverty and Funeral Support Payment reference group was established in 2016 to help bring a variety of informed perspectives and provide feedback on proposals for FSP. Membership includes funeral directors, local government, third sector organisations and funeral industry experts. We provided an overview of our proposed changes in November 2023 and have met separately with some of the individual members.

The overall feedback from the reference group was positive and members were broadly supportive of the changes. The impact on island communities was noted to be largely positive, increasing flexibility of FSP and choices for people. A concern was raised around smaller businesses in island communities losing out to mainland businesses if FSP is awarded outwith the deceased's local area, but with the overall recognition that this change will have a bigger positive impact on people generally.

The introduction of Alkaline Hydrolysis as a funeral method, although generally a positive change for the people of Scotland due to the current interest and potential increase of this option in the future, was noted to be less relevant for island communities where alkaline hydrolysis may likely be unavailable due to the small population size. However, the FSP changes were widely viewed as progressive and the continuous improvement of FSP was welcomed by the reference group.

What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities?

What are the positive/negative impacts for island communities? Are there any specific inter-island differences we need to consider?

Separate consultation events for Island communities/Local Authorities?

As part of this impact assessment, we also met with a number of local authorities in rural and island communities. We met with the Shetland Council Burial Services Officer who agreed that the current population is too low for an alkaline hydrolysis facility to be feasible. There was also an acknowledgement that there will be more cases of funerals involving travel for cremation or alkaline hydrolysis in the future due to a potential lack of burial grounds. However, at present these changes have no direct impact and no issues were highlighted.

We also met with Argyll and Bute Council who were supportive of the changes proposed and did not highlight any disadvantages. There was an acknowledgement that the changes could benefit those who do not have easy access to crematorium facilities, such as island communities on Islay and Mull. It was also acknowledged that funeral directors are keen to see alkaline hydrolysis introduced in Scotland but that this may take time to be widely adopted.

Overall, our engagement with external stakeholders highlighted that these changes were positive with no specifically negative impacts on rural or island communities.

Step Four – Assessment

Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities?

Demographic

• Current regulations disadvantage some clients within island and more rural communities if they choose to use a crematorium on the mainland, or a burial ground outwith the deceased's local authority area.
• One stakeholder told us that that a reasonability test amendment could benefit those who do not have easy access to crematorium facilities, such as island communities on Islay and Mull.
• Another stakeholder raised that there was only one funeral director on the island of Shetland, with the closest crematorium in Aberdeen which has provided limits in terms of choice.
• For a Crematorium or Alkaline Hydrolysis facility to be feasible it would take a population of 150,000. Both the Shetland Islands and Orkney have a population significantly under this, at around 23,000 respectively.
• Therefore as crematoriums tend to be on the mainland, having the option to be buried or created outwith the area in which applying a reasonability test when a person has buried or cremated outwith the area in which they resided will create additional flexibility by giving greater choice for island communities and a fairer and more consistent approach for all clients.

Economic

• One stakeholder highlighted that alkaline hydrolysis could increase accessibility for more people to be able to cover funeral costs, being a more affordable option and reducing the need to take out a loan or incur debt for a higher cost of burial.
• A burial is typically the most expensive type of funeral, with cremation a significantly cheaper option. Again, allowing for a reasonability test would enable more people to choose the option of cremation if this was their preferred option.
• Furthermore, having the option to go out of local authority areas for burials could mean that consumers are able to shop around for a better deal and not be constrained by set prices within their own area.
• This policy is likely to have a positive impact as widening eligibility and making it easier to access FSP will benefit low income families to help towards the cost of a funeral, helping to reduce funeral poverty.

Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts?

It is assessed that these changes will not have a significantly different effect on island communities. These changes are intended to improve FSP as a whole, in ways which will improve client experience and deliver increased value for money, in the same way across all of Scotland.

Is A Full Island Communities Impact Assessment Required?

Question 1: Are there any mitigations in place for the impacts identified and noted above from stakeholders and community consultations? (If further ICIA action is not required, complete the section below and publish).

Yes

Question 2: Does the evidence show different circumstances or different expectations or needs, or different experiences or outcomes (such as levels of satisfaction, or different rates of participation)?

No

Question 3: Are these different effects likely?

N/A

Question 4: Are these effects significantly different?

N/A

Question 5: Could the effect amount to a disadvantage for an island community compared to the mainland or between island groups?

N/A

A Full Islands Community Impact Assessment Is Not Required

In preparing the ICIA, we have formed an option that our policy is not likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities). The reason for this is detailed below.

The evidence does not suggest that any new negative impacts will be created by the changes we are introducing. While some impacts unique to the islands were identified for Funeral Support Payment generally, there are existing mitigations in place to address these. However, many other key barriers affecting the Islands also impact mainland Scotland (albeit, in different ways to the islands), such as cost of living and stigma. Therefore, they are not unique to the islands.

The evidence does not suggest that the effects of the regulation amendments will differ significantly for the islands. Overall, we believe that these amendments are likely to have a positive impact on rural, remote and island communities by improving accessibility, availability and transparency of information on FSP. This will help enable people in these communities to better understand, compare and choose the services that are right for them. The key aim of the amendments is to have a positive impact across the whole of Scotland and stakeholder feedback is clear that the amendments will impact island communities positively. Specifically, our stakeholders believed that these changes can benefit bereaved people through improved access to funeral options and will not bring disadvantages to bereaved people or funeral directors.

The Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) is an advisory non-departmental public body who provide independent scrutiny of the Scottish social security system(including benefit regulations). SCoSS have scrutinised these regulations and provided feedback recommending that we make it clear that we can use costs outside the deceased's local authority area when carrying out a cost comparison for funerals abroad. This is likely to apply more often in island communities which are less likely to have a crematorium. If a cost comparison cannot be made because the type of funeral could not have taken place, for example if there is no crematorium in the local authority where the deceased was resident, then reasonable costs will be considered. SCoSS also recommended that we develop guidance on what would constitute an exceptional circumstance that would allow FSP to be awarded outside the UK and that data is collected to monitor the impact of the regulation changes.

We will act on the feedback SCoSS have provided by developing robust guidance which will be in place before the regulations come into force on 2 December 2024. We will also gather data as part of our ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the changes to regulations, with a particular focus on take-up in respect of funerals outside the UK and the exceptional circumstances provision. The first data gather is scheduled for 6 months after the regulations come into force and this data will feed into future evaluation work.

Screening ICIA completed by: Mikaela Bain, Policy Officer

Signature and date: Mikaela Bain, 1 August 2024

ICIA authorised by: Ian Davidson, Deputy Director, Social Security Policy

Signature and date: Ian Davidson, 30^th August 2024