Scottish Catholic Observer

Catholic and Protestant clergy have united to urge the Scottish Government to combat the exploding cost of burying a loved one.

A new report from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) shows the basic cost of a burial, excluding undertakers’ fees, is now £1,373, up 8% on last year. The total cost is estimated to be £3,799—double that of a decade ago, according to a separate survey by insurer Sunlife.

The Scottish government is hosting a conference on funeral poverty in November before social security powers, including funeral payments, are devolved to the Scottish Parliament next year.

Fr Jeremy Bath, of St Philomena’s, Whitburn, a Catholic representative on the Church Funeral Poverty Committee, said the situation required ‘aggressive action.’

He said there was an unemployed woman in his parish who buried her husband and son within nine months of each other. “At  three and a half grand a time, it’s huge sums.”

Fr Bath, who met with communities secretary Angela Constance as part of a churches delegation earlier this month, said the Scottish Government should use their forthcoming powers over social security to reform the payment for the so-called ‘paupers funeral.’

“At the moment it’s very hard to qualify for, and then to get access to,” he said. “There’s a real need to simplify the process. We also need to encourage people to save for their funeral and discourage undertakers from charging extra for Saturday funerals and to not demand huge deposits.”

Exploring options

Anthony Horan, the Catholic Church’s parliamentary officer, said he hoped the Scottish government would act to help those struggling to afford spiralling burial costs.

“Any suggestion of exploring and developing more affordable funeral options must be welcomed, especially set against the reported rise in costs of burials and cremations in the last year,” he said. “The devolving of the Regulated Social Fund—which includes funeral payments—to Scotland, is an opportunity for Scottish ministers to develop ways to assist those struggling to meet the costs of funerals and to provide an easier, more streamlined system of claiming.”

Mr Horan said that ‘as with all government policy, the dignity of the human person should be the fundamental principle upon which it is based, and I would hope that the government will acknowledge the importance of a dignified funeral for those who, whether by their own means or the means of their family, are unable to meet the costs.’

Ecumenical action

Rev Bryan Kerr, the Kirk’s representative on the Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty, also met with Angela Constance alongside Fr Bath and said the cost of  funerals had increased to an ‘eye watering level.’

“The biggest part of the cost can be the burial plot,” he said. “We need to be sure local authorities aren’t profiting from death by pushing up those fees to cover shortfalls elsewhere.”

He also called for creative solutions “Obviously there’s only a limited amount of money available, but we need to start being creative in helping people pay for funerals,” he said. “A lot of people don’t know there’s a payment they can get if they are low waged. They should be encouraged to ask their funeral directors about it and perhaps that payment should be expanded to more people.”

Rev Kerr also said there was a need for education ‘to help people to talk about death.’

“Many of us are wholly unprepared for it,” he said. “The more we talk about it before, the more we can prepare and save and make it easier.”

Communities Secretary Angela Constance said it was unacceptable for families who are mourning the loss of a loved one to be ‘faced with mounting debt and distress because of the cost of paying for a funeral.’

The minister said the national conference on November 16 would ‘bring together the funeral industry, local authorities and charities to discuss how we can address the rising and disproportionately different costs which are incurred in different parts of the country.’

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on social security powers to be devolved to Scotland, including funeral payments.

To respond to the Consultation on Social Security in Scotland, visit: www.consult.scotland.gov.uk/social-security/social-security-in-scotland

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—This story ran in full in the September 30 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.