MP's appeal for cohesion in bereavement issues
Easington MP Grahame Morris wants greater leadership and cohesion across Government to improve the treatment of grieving families.
The call came during a debate in the House of Commons onthecampaignforacross-industryBereavementStandard.
Mr Morris, who instigated the adjournment debate, said: “WelackcrossGovernmentcoordination
and focus. Issues of bereavementrunacrossseveraldepartments–Health,Work and Pensions, Education, Justice and Business.
“We need a clear ministerial lead on bereavement to ensure co-ordination across departments, otherwise bereaved families will continue to slip through the net.”
More than 92,500 people have signed an online petition calling on the Government to introduce a Bereavement Standard and more than 50 cross-party MPs have signed a similarEarlyDayMotioninthe Commons.
Campaigners say the Bereavement Standard would speed up end-of-life account closure processes, standardisedocumentswithdigitalversionswherepossibleandoblige service providers to provide dedicated bereavement channels for customers to contact, with properly trained staff.
County Durham resident Vicky Wilson, co-founder of the Bereavement Standard campaignwithCruseBereavementCare,said:“WeneedaBereavementStandardnowmore than ever and we need swifter actionfromtheGovernmentto bring it about.”
She and mother Julie have launched Settld – a free accountclosureserviceavailable onlineatwww.settld.care–this week.
Members of the public can upload the necessary documents via a secure page at the website and Settld contacts each company on their behalf.