Record the number of bereaved children to ensure they are supported
This petition gathered 11,424 signatures between 2 May 2023 and 2 November 2023, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 12 October 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 2 December 2024.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Record the number of bereaved children to ensure they are supported
Aged 12, I experienced my dad’s murder. I received no help until my 20s. Recording the number of children in the household when a death is registered, could help thousands of bereaved children and ensure services can better plan, reach out to families and offer much needed support.
We don't know how many bereaved children there are in the UK right now. If we don’t know the true scale of childhood bereavement, the services that exist to help are unable to proactively offer the support that children and their families need to cope with their grief. Without support, unresolved grief in young people can lead to an increased risk of youth offending, family breakdown, underachievement in education and employment and long-term mental health conditions.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 12 October 2023; the petitions site lists the Department of Health and Social Care as responsible. Its summary:
Losing a loved one is an awful experience, particularly for children. It is not appropriate for a death registration to include the name of any dependent child, but support is available for children.
The opening 378 words of the 502-word response:
Losing a loved one is an awful experience for anyone, particularly for a child who loses a parent. As a government, we recognise the profound impact that bereavement can have on a child's life, with far-reaching consequences that may affect their mental health, wellbeing, and academic performance requiring additional support.
The Government is always looking at how we can improve support for children who need it, including for bereaved children.
The Department of Health & Social Care lead on the nation’s health, including that of young people. Some bereaved children and young people will require support for their mental health, and we are expanding specialist mental health support by investing an additional £2.3billion a year into mental health services by 2023/24. We are also introducing Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges across the country. Mental wellbeing is also a topic in statutory health education and includes a range of content relevant to dealing with bereavement, including teaching pupils how to recognise and talk about their emotions.
We also know that schools can play a vital role in supporting bereaved children and signposting them to further support. The support provided by Government is complemented by the tremendous work of charities and organisations who are often best placed to provide the expert support needed, and we will continue to work closely with the voluntary sector to assess how we can provide further support to children.
We strongly encourage anyone struggling with their bereavement to contact their GP who can help provide support, signpost to specialist bereavement support organisations or refer to a counsellor.
One of the most important ways we can support bereaved children is through providing early help that provides a comprehensive range of effective, evidence-based services to support any child, young person or family that needs it. Government has taken a number of actions to prioritise services, including providing over £45m of additional funding to pathfind Family Help (as part of our ambitious plans to reform children’s social care) and investing over £300 million to establish Family Hubs (with the majority having opened by this summer) and transform ‘Start for Life’ services in 75 Local Authorities. Local Authorities are expected to identify emerging problems and potential unmet needs of individual children and families in their area.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 113, came from Bristol East.
11,341 of the signatures were from the UK and 83 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Bristol East | 113 |
| Tewkesbury | 87 |
| Penrith and The Border | 85 |
| Cheltenham | 81 |
| Bristol West | 74 |
| Bristol South | 70 |
| Colne Valley | 59 |
| Wantage | 53 |
| Gloucester | 51 |
| Reading West | 51 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 2,221 |
| South West | 1,633 |
| North West | 1,338 |
| London | 1,281 |
| East of England | 1,066 |
| West Midlands | 880 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 874 |
| East Midlands | 634 |
| Scotland | 581 |
| Wales | 356 |
| North East | 264 |
| Northern Ireland | 137 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 2 December 2024. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/636718.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
89e6deafa7f0e361… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.