Funeral Poverty Report

Citizens Advice Scotland has published a report which gives wide reaching recommendations on how to tackle funeral poverty in Scotland.

This report recommends how costs can be controlled and families given much more ability to arrange a respectful funeral at an affordable price. They suggest that though some of these changes will be difficult and some will take time, with strong leadership and a lasting commitment to helping the bereaved all are achievable.

In June 2015 Citizens Advice Scotland published the Cost of Saying Goodbye report regarding the rising and varying cost of funerals in Scotland. In it they highlight the large differences in what people pay for burial and cremation fees depending on the local authority area where they live. Their research has revealed a significant variation in the basic costs of burial which can vary by as much as four times depending on where someone lives in Scotland.

Previous work by CAS indicates that an increasing number of Scots are struggling to pay for basic funerals, and that many families, up and down Scotland, find themselves in unacceptable situations when recently bereaved. In 2015 prices increased by an average of 10% for burial costs and 5% for cremation charges when compared to 2014. In one local authority area prices increased by over 40%, an unaffordable inflation for those struggling on low incomes. CAS frontline advisers continue to give feedback that the problem of people struggling to scrape together the finance to pay for a funeral is increasing.

CAS believes that if left unchecked funeral poverty is going to have serious knock on effects on other public services in Scotland and preventative action is now a serious priority. They say that the current trend of rising funeral costs is unsustainable and is damaging communities across Scotland.

The full report is available here: Funeral Poverty in Scotland: A Review for the Scottish Government