Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of local authority charges for burial fees for children in (a) Newcastle, (b) the North East and (c) England.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Government recognises that the loss of a child is an incredibly difficult and distressing time for any family and that the cost of burial can be an additional concern. Payments may be available, through the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment scheme, to people who meet the eligibility conditions. In addition, it is open to local authorities to waive burial and cremation fees for children, as some already do.