Sandwell Council set to cancel burial fees for stillborn babies
Grieving parents of stillborn babies will no longer have to pay to bury their child if councillors agree to proposals to be discussed next week.
Sandwell’s cabinet is being asked to extend a new government scheme which waivers funeral costs for children under the age of 18 or who died after the 24th week of pregnancy.
The Children’s Funeral Fund has been set up after a campaign by Carolyn Harris MP who lost her son at a young age.
In response, the government passed legislation that means all bereaved parents no longer have to pay for bereavement services of a child aged under 18-years-old or a baby which dies in the last 14 weeks of a pregnancy.
In future local authorities, crematoriums and funeral directors will be able to apply to the fund to cover the cost of burials.
But in a report to Sandwell’s cabinet the authority is now asking permission to waiver fees for all stillborn children in the borough.
Last year, the council provided a cremation or burial for 82 bereaved families whose child died before the 24th week of pregnancy.
Councillors have been told they can continue to charge for services but officers say: “By doing so this approach may be considered insensitive to the impact the loss of a baby has on those families.”
The move will cost the council £7,400 a year but in recommending the extension the report says this will be made up by the benefits of supporting people who have suffered the loss of a baby.
It states: “Whilst there is a modest impact on income derived from the aforementioned services, this will be more than offset by the practical support and positive social impact to bereaved parents arising from their child’s burial or cremation who may not be eligible for funding.”
Councillors will discuss the report at their meeting on August 28.
