MAJOR changes in how the UK deals with death are being recommended after figures revealed there were 25,755 excess bereavements in West Yorkshire - thousands of those in Bradford - over the past two years.

The findings from one of the largest ever consultations on bereavement support in the UK has been published today by the UK Commission on Bereavement (UKCB).

The scale of loss across the UK since the pandemic has been laid bare in the report, with around 750,000 excess bereavements during this period compared to the previous five years.

In West Yorkshire, the figures show there were 6,525 excess bereavements in Bradford, 6,225 in Leeds, 5,710 in Kirklees, 4,785 in Wakefield and 2,480 in Calderdale.

The UKCB found huge gaps in support for bereaved people. More than half of adult respondents who wanted formal bereavement support said they did not get any.

Of the bereaved children who contributed to the report, half said they did not get the support they needed from their schools and colleges.

The UKCB is calling for more funding from all governments in the UK and its report identified there is a particular need to focus on better supporting Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and others who are currently poorly served.

It says that many people facing bereavement are amongst the very hardest hit by the cost of living crisis and that bereavement-related benefits must be extended to key groups who currently miss out and increased at least in line with costs of living.

Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, The Bishop of London and Chair of the Commission says: “Today’s report demonstrates the urgent need to improve people’s experiences of bereavement, and the report sets out our positive vision for how we can better support everyone who is bereaved across the UK.

“To make this vision a reality we must work together, recognising that grief really is everyone’s business.

“The sad death of Her Late Majesty The Queen last month prompted an outpouring of emotion as the nation mourned our head of state. However, the Royal Family were also grieving the death of a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother.

"Witnessing their personal loss will have reminded many of us of our own experiences and those other occasions when we were floored by grief.

“We believe that governments could transform people’s experiences of bereavement by investing just 79p per person in statutory funding. I pray that this report will go some way to illuminating a path forward and offering new hope for the future.”