Launch of Children’s Funeral Fund Promises Help for Bereaved Parents 0

Children’s Funeral Fund

The launch of the Children’s Funeral Fund was announced this week, over a year since then-Prime Minister Theresa May approved it. The Fund offers bereaved parents much-needed help with cremation, burial and coffin costs.

The Children’s Funeral Fund comes as a result of a lengthy cross-party campaign led by Labour MP Carolyn Harris, whose son Martin died tragically at the age of 8. Harris’ tireless campaigning has already led to success in Wales, with England following suit now.

 

Who does the Children’s Funeral Fund help?

The Children’s Funeral Fund offers financial support to parents who have lost a child under the age of 18. The Fund also supports parents who lose a child in the late stages of pregnancy, after 24 weeks.

 

What does the Children’s Funeral Fund cover?

The Fund will cover:

  • All cremation costs, including certificates
  • All burial fees, including grave digging 
  • Up to £300 towards the cost of a coffin

 

How do parents claim from the Fund?

The Children’s Funeral Fund is organised so that most parents won’t have to do more than they usually would to arrange their child’s funeral. Instead, funeral directors and staff at crematoria and cemeteries will simply apply to the Fund for payment for their services.

Families who choose to arrange the funeral themselves, without the help of a funeral director, will also be able to apply to the Children’s Funeral Fund on their own behalf.

If you are a funeral professional and you’d like to find out more about how exactly to claim from the Children’s Funeral Fund on behalf of a family, click here.

 

What doesn’t the Children’s Funeral Fund cover?

Most funeral directors waive their professional fees when caring for a child who has died. Now, with the coffin,cremation and burial fees also taken care of, the cost of a funeral is almost completely covered. Parents will only have to pay for a few third party services, such as flowers and a venue for the wake.

 

Is other help available?

For parents who need financial help with the remaining costs, it’s useful to know that they will still be able to apply for the Funeral Expenses Payment. This is a type of government grant available to pay for a funeral if the family is on certain qualifying benefits. You can find out more about the Funeral Expenses Payment and other forms of financial support here.

Are you a bereaved parent, or a funeral professional? Share your thoughts about the new Children’s Funeral Fund here.

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Bereaved Families to Receive Funeral Expenses Payment Sooner 0

Family holds up piggy bank spilling out coins

Families in need of help with funeral costs will now receive it much sooner. The welcome move comes as a result of a change in the way the Funeral Expenses Payment is handled.

The Funeral Expenses Payment helps bereaved families on certain benefits pay for a funeral with a one-off grant. The average payment is around £1,500.

Previously, families had to have a date set for the funeral in order to apply. Now, they can simply give an approximate date, so long as the other details needed for the claim are all present and correct.

The change is expected to make getting help with funeral costs much swifter and less stressful for the 800 people a week who make a Funeral Expenses Claim.

DWP Minister Will Quince said:

These important changes will make the very difficult time of planning a funeral or cremation that bit easier for bereaved families. Helping families access Funeral Expenses Payments sooner and more quickly means they can focus on the much more important task of arranging a proper send-off for their loved one.

This update follows on from another important update to the Funeral Expenses Payment, which removed the need to submit a final invoice from a funeral director to make a claim. Instead, families can use the initial contract with the funeral director to act as proof of the funeral’s cost. This means that it’s now possible to apply for and receive a grant before the funeral takes place.

Together, the two updates are welcome news for bereaved families in need and for the funeral professionals who support them.

To find out more about the help available for funeral costs, take a look at our guide here.

We’re making Beyond free 1

Beyond mascot

At Beyond, we have been building a consumer brand for after life services since 2015.

Our mission is to overhaul a sector which has been left behind by digital progress, where the consumer has been disenfranchised of any power, choice or equity by market forces, and incumbent players desperate to maintain the status quo.

We believe that showing easily comparable online pricing for funerals is crucial to making the market fair for consumers and we’re proud that in the last 4 years, we’ve helped over 40% of funeral directors do so, (some unwillingly) on our price comparison website (PCW).

But 40% isn’t enough.

Where we can, we give back. Our digital will service was free for over a year, resulting in thousands of low-income users making wills and leaving legacy gifts to charities.

And in that vein, I am pleased to announce that today we are making our PCW entirely free for funeral directors (it has always been free for consumers).

  • All funeral directors can now maintain a profile and pricing on Beyond at no cost.
  • We will not rank any price-transparent funeral director over another. Pari Passu.
  • All website and phone enquiries will go through to the funeral director.
  • Our other services for funeral directors such as online obituaries and financing remain free

By providing this pro bono service, we hope to encourage the remaining 800 Dignity PLC, 1,000 Coop, 200 Funeral Partners and 2,000 independent funeral branches, who don’t currently show easily comparable pricing online, to take that positive step.

We urge them to take control of their profiles, to enter their pricing, edit their own business descriptions, and stand alongside the growing minority who are leading the industry away from obfuscation towards price transparency.

There’s really no legitimate reason not to.

Ian Strang

Beyond (Founder & CEO)