asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the years in which the rate of death grant paid by his Department has risen since its inception.

Since it first became payable in 1949, the death grant has been increased twice, in 1958 and in 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will list the costs of burial for which death grants would apply in each of the years since 1967.

Death grant is a sum payable on the death of an insured person and does not relate specifically to the costs of burial. My Department does not maintain a record of burial costs, but I understand the average cost is at present about £170, whereas in 1967 it was about £85.