Cost of death: Funeral fee price gap in postcode lottery Scotland widens

The consumer body found that the average burial charge this year is £1,428 - an increase on average of 5.5 per cent since last year.

The highest increase in funeral fees was in East Renfrewshire, where fees increased by a whopping 49 per cent in a year from £965.00 to £1,440.00 in 2017.

Meanwhile eight out of the 32 Scottish local authorities elected to freeze their burial charges - the City of Aberdeen, the City of Dundee, Dumfries and Galloway, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, and South Lanarkshire.

The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) has called for Scottish Government to do more to help ease the burden on the bereaved by providing "fair funding" to councils.

A COSLA spokesman said charges have increased by 13 per cent across the board between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

He added: "But we appreciate that we cannot continue to lump the burden on citizens and that is why we are calling on the government to provide fair funding for essential services in Thursday’s budget. Councils have no more room left to manoeuvre."

The City of Edinburgh is the most expensive place in Scotland for a burial, with a cost of £2,340 - a four per cent annual increase.

The Western Isles remain the cheapest place in Scotland for a burial for the fourth year in a row, with a cost of £705 - a small 0.6 per cent annual rise.

CAS consumer spokeswoman Ruth Mendel said: “Our data shows that there remains a postcode lottery in burial costs in Scotland, with some councils charging significantly higher fees than others just a few miles away.

“Bereavement is a difficult time for any family, and the financial side of planning and paying for a funeral or cremation can of course compound the emotional difficulties, particularly for those who are on lower incomes or where the bereavement is unexpected.

“In publishing this data we hope to sensitively encourage people to think ahead and plan for funeral and cremation fees. And while we understand the financial pressures that Local Authorities face, we urge them to consider the impact that high burial charges can have on people at what can be one of the most difficult times in their lives.”

Since CAS started recording the figures in 2004, the average fee increase has risen by over £250 – that’s three and a half times the rate of inflation. "That is a substantial increase at a time when many families will have seen their incomes fall," added Ms Mendel.

Since 2014 the local authority with the highest percentage increase in burial charges was East Renfrewshire who which nearly doubled its charges from £725 to £1,440. They moved from having the second least expensive burial charges to having the 13th most expensive.

The only local authority over the period which has cut its fees is East Dunbartonshire where there has been a reduction of 21 per cent or £575.50 to £2,141. CAS said their costs were already high and the cut merely moved the local authority from having the most expensive burial charges to the second most pricey.

Humanist Society Scotland added their concerns to the increasing charges adding to the growing problem of Funeral Poverty.

Lynsey Kidd, head of ceremonies with the group said: "The reality of cuts to local government funding means they are looking to increase income elsewhere through service provision.

"It is particularly difficult to stomach the thought that such cuts are being passed onto grieving families. Some of these families will sadly be faced with a significant cost increase they can't possibly hope to afford."

Cabinet secretary for communities, social security and equalities Angela Constance said insisted the Scottish Government had treated local government "very fairly".  

She said the 2017-18 local government finance settlement – including the increase in council tax and health and social care integration funding – means that councils have an extra £383 million, or 3.7 per cent, in support for services compared to the previous year.

“We know that many people find funeral costs difficult to meet, adding stress at what is already an incredibly difficult time for those who have lost a loved one," she said.

“In August we published the Funeral Costs Plan, which commits to a range of measures aimed at addressing funeral poverty, including the publication of statutory guidance on funeral costs. Along with local authorities and COSLA, we are already looking at the reasons for variability of costs and charging for burial and cremation across Scotland, while recognising that local councils are responsible for setting their own charges.

“We see local government as being key to making progress in this area and will continue to work closely with councils, the funeral sector and other support services to address funeral poverty.”