Thanet District Council agrees free cremations for children under 17
Published: 17:40, 10 December 2018
Updated: 17:58, 10 December 2018
Parents and carers in Thanet will no longer be charged for the cremation of their children.
Thanet District Council has agreed to waive the fee for cremation of those aged under 17 from April next year.
Previously parents would be charged £50 for a child under 12 or £258.50 for a young person up to the age of 17.
At the latest full council meeting Cllr Karen Constantine (Lab) said: "I'm very glad that we can relieve parents and carers of the burden of paying for a cremation at that time.
"I do wonder if we could go further and fund other types of funerals for children."
Thanet council plan to set up a cross-party group to see if more charges can be reduced for 2020/2021 and future years.
The plans were approved with a near-unanimous vote with the exception of Cllr Iris Johnston who raised her concerns about the 20% increase to coach parking.
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Caitlin Webb, local democracy reporter