Cruse welcomes UK Commission on Bereavement report

The scale of loss across the UK since the pandemic has been laid bare in a report, Bereavement is everyone’s business, from the UK Commission on Bereavement, which says there were 6.8 million bereavements during the pandemic – with around 750,000 excess bereavements during this period compared to the previous five-year average.

The findings follow one of the largest ever consultations on bereavement support undertaken in the UK, which included over 1,000 adult and 100 child respondents to the UKCB’s surveys and evidence submitted from over 130 organisations. Cruse Bereavement Support was part of the steering group for the commission.

Gaps in support

The UKCB found huge gaps in support for bereaved people. Over 40% of adult respondents who wanted formal bereavement support didn’t get any, and of the bereaved children who contributed to the UKCB’s report, half said they did not get the support they needed from their schools and colleges.

More funding needed

This has led to the UKCB calling for more funding from all governments in the UK, and it is sending a clear message that robust strategies to deal with bereavement now and in the future are desperately needed. In addition, the UKCB says schools and employers should be required to have a bereavement policy.

Find out more and download the full report

Can you help us raise awareness?

We’d be very grateful if you could write to your MP/MLA or Member of Senedd to draw their attention to the report and the key recommendations, and ask them to do what they can to make them policy. You can copy suggested wording for a letter or email below. You can find details of your MP/MLA here or your Member of Senedd here If you get a response please forward it to [email protected] so we can update our records of who is likely to support us.

Draft letter

Please personalise the following letters where text is given in square brackets.

Dear [MP name]

I am writing to you to ask you to read and act on the new UK Bereavement Commission report Bereavement is everyone’s business.

[I know from my own experience as a bereaved person/Cruse volunteer how devastating bereavement can be …]

The report has brought together a huge amount of evidence and includes an eight-point vision for bereaved people (copied below) and a number of key recommendations.

The report and a summary are available on the UKBC website at https://bereavementcommission.org.uk/. There are two vitally important asks:

• We need a cohesive cross-government strategy for supporting bereaved people. Only by joining up initiatives across government will bereaved people get the help they so desperately need.
• We need proper funding to back up the strategy and make sure that the 40% of adults who responded to the report saying they did not get the formal bereavement support they needed are helped in the future.

I urge to read all the report, and use your influence to implement its recommendations.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

[Your name]

The UKCB has set out a vision for bereaved people in future:

• I am supported by my family, my friends and the communities around me
• I am sensitively supported by my school, college or workplace during my bereavement
• I am well supported before and during the death, and feel confident that the person who died received appropriate and compassionate care
• The things I must do after a death are simple and straightforward
• I am compassionately and helpfully supported by those whose job brings them into contact with me through my bereavement
• I have access to an affordable and meaningful funeral
• I feel secure in my home and have the right financial support
• I can easily find and access the right emotional bereavement support for my circumstances