From £694 to £2,800, the vast gulf in charges for burying a loved one

A CEMETERIES boss has criticised the ‘ridiculous’ prices her own council charges families to bury their loved ones.

A Holyrood committee was taken by surprise yesterday when Audrey Hardie confessed many could not afford her authority’s funeral costs.

East Dunbartonshire Council charges £2,785 for a plot and burial – the highest charge in Scotland – compared to £694 in the Western Isles.

Mrs Hardie admitted she was ‘speaking out of turn’ about the costs, set by councillors, but called for a price freeze to help struggling families.

It comes as funeral costs have soared in recent years to an average of £5,000, forcing a rising number of Scots to be laid to rest in paupers’ graves.

In 2014, almost 500 people were given state-funded funerals, at a total cost of almost £450,000.

Mrs Hardie, called before the local government and regeneration committee, said there had been a ‘huge jump’ in funeral costs in East Dunbartonshire. The cemeteries officer added: ‘Three years ago, they increased the prices by 25 per cent then the following year 50 per cent and last year they went up by the rate of inflation.

‘I’m hoping they freeze prices this year because it’s come to saturation point with families where they can’t afford it.

‘I’m speaking out of turn here, but I think they’re ridiculous. I’ve no control over the costs and I’ve to justify why these costs are set. It would help if… they could cap them in some way.’

Her questioner, Nationalist MSP Willie Coffey, said: ‘I’m surprised anybody can afford to be buried in East Dunbartonshire.’

A survey by Citizens Advice Scotland last year found average burial fees had risen by 10 per cent in the 12 months to 2015. A burial in East Dunbartonshire costs £1,900 more than it would only 15 miles away in East Renfrewshire, it said.

But the £2,785 price tag does not include the costs of a

‘Families can’t afford the fees’

funeral director or extra overheads such as transport or a headstone, which take the average cost in Scotland to £5,055 for a burial and £4,425 for a cremation, the organisation said.

The Holyrood committee is scrutinising the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill, which seeks to address the increasing pressure on available land for burials and help reduce costs.

Grace Irvine, neighbourhood services director at East Dunbartonshire Council, said it had had to make savings of £50million over the past decade.

She added: ‘Decisions to increase cemetery charges have been taken at times when preserving frontline services to the most vulnerable in our communities has been the priority.’