The government has announced that a new ‘Children’s Funeral Fund’ will be introduced in England to fund the cost of child burials and cremations for grieving parents. This is welcome news and follows the scrapping of the fees in Wales last November.
The
BBC reports the Prime Minister's response. She said:
"After so much pressure and so much time, families right across the United Kingdom can know that if they're ever in that terrible, terrible position when they lose a child, that there will now be a pot of money available to make sure that child has a dignified and respectful funeral."
But should the government go one step further and increase bereavement damages for child deaths? In England and Wales, the bereavement
award, the statutory sum paid by insurers to the parents of a child killed, for example, by a negligent truck driver, is a meagre £12,980. By contrast, in Scotland, bereavement awards are handed down by the courts on a case by case basis and it’s not uncommon to see grieving families being awarded tens of thousands for the death of a loved one killed by a careless, negligent driver.
Some will say that you cannot put a price on a child’s life and I would agree. No amount of money can compensate for the tragic loss of a child in whatever circumstance, but is £12,980 a true reflection of a modern societys' response to an untimely and tragic young death? This is small change to a very wealthy car insurer and given the massive savings the insurance industry will soon enjoy when the small claims track limit for personal injury claims is increased, they can well afford at least a ten-fold increase. The Lord Chancellor, David Gauke MP, has it within his power to increase the award (
Fatal Accidents Act 1976) He would be a fool not to.
