England to Abolish Burial and Cremation Fees for Children

LONDON — Parents in England will no longer be charged burial and cremation fees for children after Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the government would set up a fund to cover the charges.

The announcement Saturday came after a campaign by an opposition Labour lawmaker, Carolyn Harris, who went into debt to bury her 8-year-old son, Martin, who died in a road accident. The charges were waived for parents in Wales last year.

May said in a statement, “In the raw pain of immediate loss, it cannot be right that grieving parents should have to worry about how to meet the funeral costs for a child they hoped to see grow into adulthood.”

“In the darkest moment of any parent’s life there is little light, but there can be support,” she added.

Labour Left, a research organization tied to Britain’s main opposition party, said on Twitter that the fund would be financed with 10 million pounds, or about $14 million.

The prime minister’s office noted that about 4,350 children under the age of 18 died every year and that their families faced thousands of pounds in local authority fees for burial or cremation costs. Those costs can vary considerably, though some councils already waive the fees.

Harris, a member of Parliament for the Welsh constituency of Swansea East, celebrated the announcement on Twitter.

“This victory will mean parents who are going through the toughest time in their life will have one less thing to worry about,” she wrote.

In a video, she said, “I just wish it hadn’t taken so long.”

May lauded the “dignity and strength” of Harris, who had been at the forefront of the campaign to abolish child funeral fees after she had to take out a loan to bury her son.

The prime minister said she had asked for the fund to be set up in England “for Carolyn, in memory of her son Martin.”

Last year, the Welsh government signed a “memorandum of understanding” with local authorities to ensure a “fair and consistent approach” to funeral fees.