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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has for funerals during the covid-19 outbreak.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has for funerals during the covid-19 outbreak.
Government is putting in place a range of measures to ensure the UK is prepared to manage the impacts of a Covid-19 outbreak. Part of this planning is ensuring we are prepared for higher numbers of people dying over the period of the pandemic.
Ensuring the deceased are treated with dignity and respect whilst minimising the risks to public health is at the forefront of Government planning. Measures underway will increase capacity at a local level to manage additional demand.
The Government’s Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan) sets out planning principles that underpin the response to the Covid-19 outbreak. As part of this response, provisions have been included in the Coronavirus Bill which will ensure the sector can manage the impact of the pandemic.
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To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he will be taking for funerals as a result of covid-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he will be taking for funerals as a result of covid-19.
Government is putting in place a range of measures to ensure the UK is prepared to manage the impacts of a Covid-19 outbreak. Part of this planning is ensuring we are prepared for higher numbers of people dying over the period of the pandemic.
Ensuring the deceased are treated with dignity and respect whilst minimising the risks to public health is at the forefront of Government planning. Measures underway will increase capacity at a local level to manage additional demand.
The Government’s Action Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-action-plan) sets out planning principles that underpin the response to the Covid-19 outbreak. As part of this response, provisions have been included in the Coronavirus Bill which will ensure the sector can manage the impact of the pandemic.
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Q3
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Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab):
Thirty years ago, I conducted my first funeral as a young curate. It was for a young teenage boy who was an enormous fan of Paul Simon, so, as the crematorium curtains closed, we listened to “The Sound of Silence”, and many people cried. The average cost of a child’s funeral today is £3,675. Some councils do not charge anything, but some charge a lot, and the social fund is means-tested. I ask again: will the Prime Minister please listen to the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), sign up to her campaign and put an end to both the means-testing and the
postcode lottery, so that no parents who lose a child have to deal with the fear of hardship as well as their grief?
Q3
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Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab):
Thirty years ago, I conducted my first funeral as a young curate. It was for a young teenage boy who was an enormous fan of Paul Simon, so, as the crematorium curtains closed, we listened to “The Sound of Silence”, and many people cried. The average cost of a child’s funeral today is £3,675. Some councils do not charge anything, but some charge a lot, and the social fund is means-tested. I ask again: will the Prime Minister please listen to the words of my hon. Friend the Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), sign up to her campaign and put an end to both the means-testing and the
postcode lottery, so that no parents who lose a child have to deal with the fear of hardship as well as their grief?
The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point. I know that the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) spoke very movingly from personal experience in the debate that she called on this issue. I do not think that anybody who has not been through the death of a child can possibly understand the pain that that brings, not just immediately but thereafter, as parents see others grow up while their child will not.
I recognise the issue that the hon. Gentleman has raised about the cost of children’s funerals. As he has said, there are measures in place for families who have particular hardship cases, where money can be given. It is open to local authorities to waive fees, and some local authorities do that. We have left this as a decision for local authorities, and some do, indeed, waive those fees.