■英國殮葬費十多年間增一倍，衍生「殮葬貧窮」的問題。 網上圖片【原文】下文摘錄自香港《文匯報》2018年4月3日報道：
近年英國殮葬（burial）費用持續飆升，《星期日泰晤士報》（The Sunday Times）接連發現不少家長因無力支付殮葬費，只能以硬卡紙棺材（cardboard coffins）安放嬰兒遺體，並揭發地方政府甚至以拒絕交還親人骨灰等手段，企圖阻止窮人使用較便宜的公共殮葬服務。逾100名國會議員（Members of Parliament）早前聯署，要求首相（Prime Minister）文翠珊（Theresa May）處理「殮葬貧窮」問題，文翠珊終於本月初宣佈全面取消兒童殮葬收費，並成立基金（fund）由政府代付。
殮葬津貼 未隨市價調升
英國就業及退休保障部（The Department for Work and Pensions）由2003年起，一直維持殮葬費津貼（subsidy）於700英鎊（約7,725港元），但當地平均私人殮葬費已由當年的1,920英鎊（約2.12萬港元)，增至目前的4,078英鎊（約4.5萬港元），津貼顯然無法應對需要。
歷切膚之痛 借錢葬親兒
工黨（Labour Party）國會議員哈里斯（Carolyn Harris）便曾經親身經歷過「無錢殮葬」之苦，她的8歲幼子於1989年因交通意外逝世，她當時無法負擔殮葬費，只好請求鄰居幫助，並向銀行貸款700英鎊（約7,725港元），才能處理兒子身後事。
哈里斯2015年當選議員後，持續關注兒童殮葬議題，成功爭取威爾斯(Wales）政府去年宣佈增設恩恤措施，免去兒童死者的殮葬費。她近日再發起聯署（joint signature campaign），獲工黨黨魁郝爾彬（Jeremy Corbyn）、保守黨（Conservative Party）前黨魁施志安（Iain Duncan Smith)等104名議員響應。
成立殮葬基金 維護逝者尊嚴
文翠珊表示受哈里斯的努力所感動，形容失去子女對家長而言，是畢生難以撫平的傷痛，政府不應讓他們為籌措殮葬費煩惱，宣佈以哈里斯亡子馬丁（Martin)的名字成立基金，為所有兒童支付殮葬費，估計每年開支（expenditure）約1,000萬英鎊(約1.1億港元)。
英國每年約有4,350名18歲以下兒童死亡，哈里斯歡迎當局設立基金，認為這能維護（preserve）家長的尊嚴（dignity），希望她的經歷不再重演。哈里斯坦言多年來一直想念亡子，對兒子仍能貢獻（contribute）社會感到欣慰。
TOO POOR TO DIE：FUNERAL POVERTY CRISIS
【譯文】The cost of burial in Britain has kept soaring in recent years. According to The Sunday Times, it was reported that many parents had found the burial fees unaffordable such that their dead child could only be placed in a cardboard coffin; furthermore, the local government even prevented the poor from using the low-cost public funeral services by refusing to return the cremains to relatives. Previously, over 100 members of parliament（MPs）submitted a petition asking the Prime Minister Theresa May to tackle funeral poverty. In response to the request, Theresa May finally made an announcement later about abolishing burial fees for children and establishing a fund to cover the charges by the government.
Funeral prices double in a decade
The Department for Work and Pensions in Britain has capped funeral expenses claims at £700（HK$7,725）since 2003, but the average cost of a funeral has risen from £1,920（HK$21,200）to £4,078（HK$45,000）nowadays, implying obviously that the limited amount of subsidy could no longer meet the needs.
The Labour MP Carolyn Harris had once suffered from funeral poverty that she was unable to afford the burial fees of her 8-year-old son, who died in a road accident in 1989, and had to turn to her neighbors for assistance and even went into debt for a total of £700（HK$7,725）to get rid of the toughest time.
After being selected as a MP in 2015, Harris continued to pay attention to the issue of children's funeral and had successfully urged the Welsh government to take measures to eliminate the burial and cremation fees for children last year. She re-initiated a joint signature campaign recently, which was supported by 104 MPs, including the leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn and the former leader of the Conservative Party Iain Duncan Smith.
Lay to rest without debt
Deeply moved by the efforts paid by Harris, Theresa May described that the raw pain of loss of children had sent the grieving parents to the darkest moment of their life and the government should not let them worry about meeting the funeral costs. She announced to set up a fund in memory of Harris' son Martin to cover the burial and cremation charges for children, with an estimated annual expenditure of about 10 million pounds（HK$110 million）.
About 4,350 children under the age of 18 died in Britain every year. Harris welcomed the establishment of such fund, saying that it would help preserve the dignity of parents and hoping that her tragedy would not be repeated once again. She missed her son and was glad that he could still contribute to society after many years.■龐嘉儀
延伸問題
1. 據統計，英國每年有多少人背負龐大的喪葬債務？
2. 由於喪葬費用高昂，據英國火葬協會（Cremation Society of Great Britain）數據顯示，火葬由1960年所佔比例的35%增至現時多少個百分比？
3. 英國近年興起的各式環保型棺材通常以什麼材料編製而成？
4. 由於殮葬費用不菲，日本甚至興起什麼形式的喪葬？
5. 近年新興的自然葬（green/ecological/natural burial）包括有什麼形式？
1. 11萬人
2. 74%
3. 柳條、竹子、羊毛、海草等
4. 零葬（即無葬禮、無墓地、不留骨灰）
5. 海葬（sea burial）、花園葬（garden burial）、樹葬（forest burial）、鑽石葬（memorial diamond）等