Family & Health

Proposals to drastically raise the cost of sorting out someone's property, money and possessions after they've died have been ditched - but the controversial plans could resurface after the general election.

The fee for registering a Lasting Power of Attorney has dropped from £110 to £82, in a move the Government hopes will encourage more people to draw up plans in case they lose mental capacity.

The cost of sorting out someone's property, money and possessions after they've died will increase for many next month, with some to face fees of £20,000 - despite a late challenge by a parliamentary panel to block the planned rise in probate charges.

Parents and grandparents will be able to leave homes worth up to £850,000 to their children and grandchildren without them paying inheritance tax from tomorrow, with the tax-free allowance rising to £1 million by 2020.

Parents may struggle to take advantage of a Government scheme to deliver 30 hours of free childcare a week for three and four-year olds in England, after a recent survey showed that less than half of the country’s childcare providers are planning to offer the scheme.

The Government will consider whether to supply the UK's poorest schoolgirls with free sanitary products, after it emerged that a charity which donates the items to Kenya to combat 'period poverty' has now begun doing so in Yorkshire.

Parents who experience the tragic loss of a child aged 16 or 17 can now benefit from free funeral arrangements, after Co-op Funeralcare extended its long-standing free child funerals policy to include older children.

Charges for NHS prescriptions and NHS dental care in England will rise from 1 April, the Government has announced – so i f you've been meaning to go to the dentist, see if you can book in before then to avoid paying extra.

The new Tax-Free Childcare scheme which gives eligible families an extra 20% towards childcare costs will launch in April, the Chancellor announced today. But with just one month to go, details about how it will work are still sketchy.