The UK Commission on Bereavement (UKCB) was established in 2021 to investigate the key issues related to bereavement and to make recommendations on improving support for bereaved people across the UK.
Following an extensive public consultation, including over 1,000 adult and 100 child respondents to the UKCB’s surveys, as well as evidence submitted from over 130 organisations, the Commission published its final report in 2022: ‘Bereavement is everyone’s business’.
Bereavement is everyone’s business
The report showed how bereavement impacts all of us. From dealing with complicated admin to coping with financial and housing insecurity, plus returning to work or school after a bereavement. Being bereaved creates challenges in every area of life, and the report sets out the wide-ranging changes needed to improve support across the UK.
Briefings and recommendations
The UKCB produced specific briefings for all four nations:
It also produced:
What has the report achieved?
Since the publication of the UK Commission on Bereavement’s report, steering group members have been working to progress the Commission’s recommendations.
Significant progress has been made towards the recommendations over the last two years, including:
- The Department for Education in England has consulted on proposals to include grief education on the school curriculum.
- The eligibility criteria for social security benefits for parents of bereaved children have been extended. Families who were living together but not married can now access these benefits.
- The UK Government is introducing a new right to bereavement leave for employees bereaved of a close relative.
- The Northern Ireland Bereavement Network has been consulting on a new Bereavement Charter.
- The Welsh Government is developing a bereavement care pathway for children and young people.
- UKCB steering group partners have requested that the National Institute for Clinical Excellence produce a clinical guideline on bereavement.
- The National Institute for Health Research has commissioned a major new study into equitable bereavement support for people of all ethnicities.
- The UK Government is introducing the facility for people to register a death online.
- New national Bereavement Support Service Standards have been published.
What’s next?
The UKCB’s steering group members and others are continuing to campaign for change. Current priorities include:
- improvements to the ways that major companies treat their bereaved customers
- greater security for bereaved people who rent their home
- uprating of benefits for bereaved families so that they keep up with inflation
- sustainable funding for specialist bereavement support organisations.
