Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a new protocol to ensure that (a) local authorities and (b) public bodies inform children who have recently been bereaved about the (i) local, (ii) national and (iii) online support services available to them.

This government is committed to improving the support available to all children and young people, including those struggling with bereavement. This is why we are prioritising improving mental health support for all children and young people, which includes providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school. In addition, the department provides a list of resources for schools on supporting pupils’ mental health and wellbeing, which may include supporting children dealing with loss and bereavement.

As I set out at a Westminster Hall Debate on childhood bereavement on 2 December, the cross-government bereavement working group, chaired within the Department of Health and Social Care, will continue to look at options for improving support for bereaved children and young people across government, including the potential to improve data collection.