Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they have given to the funding of voluntary organisations working to facilitate the access of children and young people to specialist bereavement services.

Counselling services for children and young people, including bereavement support, are commissioned regionally by local authorities and clinical commissioning groups. Local Health and Wellbeing Boards (HWB) undertake a Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) to develop an understanding of the health and wellbeing needs of the community, including mental health needs, and base their provision on that. These services may be provided through Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS), whilst some regions may also choose to additionally fund voluntary organisations to provide bereavement services.

Nationally, the Government has awarded £11.2 million to the NSPCC for ChildLine and the NSPCC HelpLine from 2011-2015. These helplines support children by offering them the ability to talk to a counsellor about any difficulties, including bereavement, 24 hours a day.