The House of Represen-tatives on Tuesday night approved a resolution which will see the funeral grant increased from $40,000 to $50,000.

Derrick Kellier, Minister of Labour and Social Security, who moved the resolution, said the increase would take effect on January 1. He said Cabinet gave the approval for the increase this month.

Minister Kellier said the increase in the value of the grant would see an additional $280 million being expended by the National Insurance Fund, over the next five years.

Prompted by concerns

"The actuaries have confirmed that this level of increase can be sustained by the National Insurance Fund without jeopar-dising its ability to meet future obligations," he said.

The minister also said the increase was a result of concerns raised by Members of Parliament (MPs) on both sides, earlier this year, that the previous increase of $40,000 was insufficient to meet the rising cost of funerals.

Appeal for non-contributors

But, while the Opposition welcomed the increase, Opposition MPs Everald Warmington and Olivia 'Babsy' Grange asked that the Government also considers allotting a small sum to persons who have not been able to contribute to the National Insurance Scheme (NIS).

"What about the unfortunate people?" asked Opposition MP Everald Warmington. "There are many people out there who were never able to contribute toward the scheme because they never had a regular job. So, I would like an inclusion of these people."

Funeral grants are payable on the deaths of NIS pensioners or their dependants or spouses.

Since the start of this year, some 4,355 claims were made for funeral grants, with the numbers projected to peak at 4,500 by the end of the year.