Child burial and cremation costs

Council ready to extend free policy

Council chiefs are set to remove burial and cremation charges for young people aged up to 18.

At the moment, there are no charges for child burial or cremations for under-16s.

However, South Lanarkshire councillors are set to meet next week to extend the policy.

A report going before the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee states: “The council’s bereavement services currently do not charge for child burial or cremations for under- 16s (0 to 15 years) and have not charged since 2008.

“The service does, however, charge for the purchase of a new lair when this is required as this would normally be used for a further two burials and a number of internment of cremated remains ( ashes) and it is not proposed to amend this arrangement at this time. There are also already arrangements in place for pregnancy loss with Lanarkshire Health Board, where cremations are already provided to parents at no charge.”

And the report goes on: “It is considered appropriate to propose that South Lanarkshire Council adjust the current age restrictions on charges for child burial internments and cremation and extend them to cover children aged 18 and under from September 1, 2018.”

Councillors will be told that the Scottish Government has indicated an intention to provide financial support to local authorities. It is likely this funding will be based on actual and forecast numbers of child deaths and the costs of burials and cremations.

The report going before the committee adds: “South Lanarkshire’s allocation has still to be confirmed but given the number of deaths within the extended age group, there are no significant financial implications associated with this proposal.”

It is expected that a further report will be submitted to a future meeting of the committee outlining any further changes proposed once the final guidance has been agreed.