Shared plot burials in Dundee slammed

A COUNCILLOR has slammed the “Dickensian” practice of shared plot burials in Dundee.

In a report published by Citizens Advice Scotland, the city was shown to have buried 76 people in unmarked shared graves in the last few years, far more than any other council area in Scotland.

Local authorities take the responsibility for the body of a deceased person if their estate does not cover the full cost of a funeral, or if no relative is willing or able to. These are called public health funerals, with the majority of councils favouring cremations over burials.

Dundee City Council uses three-tiered graves, with one body laid to rest on top of the previous one but Councillor Laurie Bidwell said he knew nothing of the practice until recently.

He said: “I am shocked by this. It seems like something out of a Charles Dickens novel or something from the 1930s.

“I wasn’t aware of this practice and I think it shouldn’t be happening. It is an undignified thing to do and we need to examine this.”

Councillor Lesley Brennan said: “The issue here is two-fold — one is the cost, and two is that we’re putting people to rest beside strangers.

“People want dignity in death, so we need to come up with a solution that is compassionate and respectful.”

A council spokesman said: “In circumstances where no other suitable plans have been put in place, the council has a legal obligation to make necessary funeral arrangements.”

A LOCAL authority has denied assertions by a Dundee man that he was advised not to claim his mother’s body in order to receive a free “pauper’s funeral”.

Mid Craigie resident Dougie Thain, 61, was struggling to afford the cost of a funeral for his mother, Mary, after she passed away in Glasgow in 2013.

He paid a deposit on a £5,000 bill but claims he was told by a Glasgow City Council employee not to officially claim her body.

Dougie said: “It was my third visit to the council. I was under a lot of pressure to afford the funeral and I think the woman felt sorry for me.

“She said that if I did not claim her body then the council would take ownership. She reassured me that everything would be dealt with using due care but this meant our family having no involvement.”

A council spokeswoman said that Mr Thain’s claim was “untrue”.

Lesley Brennan