Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Fresh bid to end kids’ burial fees
A BID to save grieving parents having to pay to bury their child is being stepped up, with Chancellor Philip Hammond urged to “think again” on the fees.
Labour MP Carolyn Harris wrote to Mr Hammond reminding him of her emotional Commons speech a year ago, when she spoke of burying eight-year-old son Martin. And she told him: “I wanted to see an end to parents struggling to find the funds to bury their child. I haven’t given up trying.”
The Sunday Mirror has backed Mrs Harris’s call for the Government to set up a Children’s Funeral Fund. Some 5,000 children die every year, and parents can face thousands in council fees.
Despite a number of authorities across the UK backing our plea, the Government has not acted.
Mrs Harris is urging the Chancellor to include the £10million fund in his Budget next month. She said: “Sadly, parents are having to make funeral plans for their children every day. It is time to step in.”