Dozens of families need help

Stirling Council undertook 453 coffin interments in 2017/18.

Citizens Advice figures estimate 10 per cent of families in Scotland struggle with funeral costs, meaning an estimtated 45 families could be supported by the new scheme.

Eligibility criteria have still to be outlined and it is unclear whether it could be open to anyone to bypass traditional funeral directors in favour of the council’s cheaper option.

The council’s current interment fee of £1075 can rise to £1165 for a Saturday afternoon and £1252 on a public holiday. The charges are included in the costs of any funerals arranged by private funeral directors.

In 2015 Citizens Advice Scotland said Stirling was the fifth most expensive place in the country to be laid to rest.

The cost in Stirling was £1779, more than twice the cost of neighbouring Falkirk where the average burial charge was £890.

The price of the burial was £1004 in Stirling, while the lair cost £775. The costs did not include the price of a funeral director or florist.

At that time CAB said that, while the additional fees of funeral directors, florists, etc, swelled basic costs considerably, people were at least free to shop around but local authority charges were“a major problem”.

Stirling Council blamed its large and complex geographic area as a factor in the charges, along with burials not being subsidised by council tax in this area.

Low-cost funerals can already be provided by the council when a person dies leaving no estate, next of kin or named executor. In such cases the council arranges for burial within a standard but unmarked lair.