Wales ends burial and cremation fees for parents

The grieving parents of children who have died will no longer have to pay burial or cremation fees, the Welsh Government has said.

The move, coming into effect from today, follows a campaign by Labour MP Carolyn Harris.

Describing the announcement by Wales' first minister Carwyn Jones as 'momentous', Ms Harris said she wanted to see an end to parents struggling with the costs of burying their child with the introduction of a children's funeral fund.

The member for Swansea East, whose 'bright and beautiful' son Martin died aged eight, 28 years ago, said:

The Welsh Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local government to stop charging for the burial of children and is making up to £1.5 million available between now and 2020 to support local authorities making the change.

It said the funding would also be available to all other providers of cemeteries and crematoria in Wales who agree not to charge on the same basis.

Mr Jones said:

Mr Jones said getting rid of the charges would also 'end the unfairness caused by charging different fees across Wales'.

Burial and cremation fees vary considerably between local authority areas and some, such as Cardiff Council, have already scrapped the charge for children, while others such as Monmouthshire County Council charge more than £1,000 for the burial of any person aged five or over in a single depth grave.

Newport City Council does not charge for the interment of children aged 16 or under but the fee for anyone over that age is £1,076.

The UK Government has faced repeated calls from Ms Harris and other MPs to scrap child burial and cremation fees. Last month, during a debate, Chancellor Philip Hammond was urged to consider creating a child funeral fund in Wednesday's Budget but he did not.

Ms Harris spoke about losing Martin and the struggle she faced paying for his funeral, in an emotional speech to the House of Commons last November.

Commenting on that experience, she said: