An expensive place to die

Grieving Wishaw families are paying well above the Scottish average to bury their loved ones according to a new report.

The annual Cost of Saying Goodbye report from Citizens Advice Scotland shows North Lanarkshire remains the seventh highest place in the country to bury a loved one.

According to the report, the cost for a total burial in the area stands at £1727 – £300 higher than the Scottish average even though the council froze burial plot prices in last year’s budget.

The huge price hike of 56.3 per cent from 2014 is the fifth highest in Scotland.

A council spokesperson said:“The council has invested in its cemeteries and burial services and the increase in charges the previous year was necessary to maintain the high level of service we provide for bereaved families.”

The cost of cremating a loved one at Holytown Crematorium has risen in the past 12 months.

The cremation charge in 2017 was £800 – a jump of £64 on the previous year.

Wishaw MSP Clare Adamson is now the convenor of Holyrood’s social security committee who is overseeing the devolution of 11 benefits to the Scottish Parliament including funeral expenses assistance.

She said:“At a time when families are being hardpressed by Westminsterimposed austerity and higher living-costs, it is not acceptable to see local authorities increase burial and cremation costs for families going through bereavements.

“The inconsistent nature of the charges also shows that it is a postcode lottery – with the Citizens Advice Report ranking North Lanarkshire as the seventh most expensive local authority in Scotland.

“There is current financial assistance available from the DWP, in the form of a Funeral Payment.

“However, statistics show that awareness and uptake of this benefit is low.

“I would encourage my constituents to apply should they suffer a bereavement in their family.

“The Scottish Government recently published their Funeral Costs Plan, which sets out a number of measures to tackle funeral poverty, including the introduction of a new benefit, Funeral Expense Assistance.

“This new benefit will be introduced as part of the Social Security (Scotland) Bill, alongside another 10 benefits, which will see a reformed social security system in Scotland.”