Burial policy to be reviewed
A LOCAL authority will undertake a review of its “rigid and insensitive” burial policy after an intervention by a Jewish councillor who was inspired by difficulties encountered when burying his grandfather.
A motion calling for the review, tabled by Oliver Kersh, a Conservative councillor, was passed unanimously during a Bury Council meeting.
Mr Kersh told colleagues there was a “lack of knowledge and sensitivity” around Jewish and Muslim burials in the borough, while delays in the council’s registrar department caused “immense frustration and animosity”.
He added there was no central contact between agencies dealing with the deceased, resulting in “gaps and pitfalls”.
Bury, in Greater Manchester, is home to one of the UK’s largest Jewish communities, in the Prestwich and Whitefield areas.
Jewish and Muslim communities in London have been locked in a long-running row with Mary Hassell, the senior coroner for Inner North London, over her refusal to prioritise patients with religious requirements. However, that controversy is not thought to be directly linked to Mr Kersh’s motion.
Mr Kersh said: “Death is not considerate. Death does not respect the time of day, time of year, national holidays or bank holidays.
“But in the Jewish and Muslim communities we have a responsibility to lay the dead to rest as soon as possible. Only then can the formal grieving process begin. Things don’t always go the way they’re supposed to, because the system isn’t as streamlined as it could be.”
Bury Council agreed to create an advisory panel to act as an intermediary between agencies such as the coroner’s office and mortuary services, as well as to provide a point of contact to deal with deaths at all times. Staff will also receive training on “religious sensitivities surrounding death and burials”.
At last week’s meeting, Councillor Khalid Hussain praised the examples of councils in Bolton, Rochdale, Kirklees and Bradford, which he said have out-of-hours cemetery services.
After consulting with the leadership of four separate shuls, Labour councillor Jane Black, who is also Jewish, confirmed that “problems still occur” in the borough.
Delays cause immense frustration and animosity’