Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Children's Funeral Fund for England will cover the cost of any memorial, religious, or church service before the cremation or burial taking place.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. That is why we have announced the establishment of a Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with the intention that no bereaved family will have to pay for the essential costs of burying or cremating their child. The detailed policy is under development and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Children's Funeral Fund for England will cover costs for burial and cremation fees in any cemetery or crematorium chosen by bereaved parents, including church, private or woodland-based funerals; and if not, whether the parents' choice will be restricted by virtue of cost.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. That is why we have announced the establishment of a Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with the intention that no bereaved family will have to pay for the essential costs of burying or cremating their child. The detailed policy is under development and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Children's Family Fund for England will cover the same expenses as those covered by the Social Fund Funeral Payment.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. That is why we have announced the establishment of a Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with the intention that no bereaved family will have to pay for the essential costs of burying or cremating their child. The detailed policy is under development and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to publish further details on how the Children's Funeral Fund for England will operate; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. That is why we have announced the establishment of a Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with the intention that no bereaved family will have to pay for the essential costs of burying or cremating their child. The detailed policy is under development and will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compatibility with equality and human rights legislation of section 7 of the Prison Act 1952, which mandates that every prison must employ a clergyman from the Church of England to fulfil its chaplain position before members of other religions or beliefs can be considered for employment.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
All prisons have multi faith chaplaincy teams to provide religious and pastoral support to prisoners. Chaplaincy provision reflects the faith/denominational requirements of the prison and prisons appoint chaplains on the basis of need, which will include a Church of England Chaplain. Church of England Chaplains are appointed under section 7 of the Prison Act 1952, and other Prison Chaplains under section 10 of the Prison Act.
We believe that the provisions on prisoner religion in the Prison Act 1952 and the Prison Rules 1999 are compatible with Articles 9 and 12 of the ECHR, and therefore we believe that HMPPS meets its obligation under the Human Rights Act 1998 to act compatibly with convention rights.
These provisions are also in accordance with the Equality Act 2010, in avoiding discrimination on grounds of religion, whether directly or indirectly. Where new prisons open, the aim is to have a fully functioning multi faith chaplaincy team appointed before the prison becomes operational.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that appropriate pastoral support is available to non-religious prisoners in English and Welsh prisons on an equal basis to religious chaplaincy, and whether that support is proportionate to the percentage of patients who describe themselves as non-religious.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Chaplaincy teams provide pastoral support to prisoners of all religions and none, and increasingly include non-religious pastoral carers accredited by Humanists UK. Pastoral support is available to all prisoners regardless of whether or not they have declared an affiliation to a particular religion.
More generally, support is provided to prisoners through a range of other sources, including prison staff, volunteers and peer supporters (such as Samaritans-trained Listeners). Our prison reforms are building on this, and the 2,500 additional frontline staff that we are recruiting will allow us to deploy all residential staff as dedicated key workers, each providing support to a caseload of about six prisoners.