Paddy Doherty reveals he cannot attend his sister’s funeral

Pressure group Silver Voices says many families struggle to pay for funerals and it has been “tackling the scandalous rises in funeral costs for several years”. A recent report revealed that in the past decade prices had risen by 62 per cent, outstripping wages that increased by just 20 per cent, and last year amid the pandemic prices went up at double the inflation rate of 3.4 per cent. The campaign group for over-60s has now urged the Government to take urgent action and introduce independent regulation of the industry to help bring down prices.

It cited the SunLife Cost of Dying Report, published annually since 2007, that calculated a death cost partners and families £9,493 on average last year. This included burial/cremation costs, professional fees and send-off costs.

But on current rates of increase average costs of dying will top £10,000 within three years.

There is also huge regional disparity in basic funeral costs, ranging from £5,963 in London to £3,489 in Northern Ireland.

In the Midlands and Wales, costs jumped more than nine per cent in a year while in the South-west and North-west prices dropped by more than three per cent.

Silver Voices now wants the Government to implement the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) recommendations to set up an independent registration and inspection regime along the lines of the Scottish model.

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

After a two-year investigation the CMA concluded last year that profits by funeral directors had been excessive and that the market is dysfunctional.

It told directors and crematoria to make prices clearer and warned it may re-examine pricing after Covid. However it ruled out recommending price controls.

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) said it had already taken steps to address many of the recommendations and this year will launch the Independent Funeral Standards Organisation, an independent regulatory body to monitor quality standards among funeral firms.

But Silver Voices said it had “no confidence that regulation controlled by the industry will curtail the excessive profits being made”.

Director Dennis Reed said: “The Government must act now to stop exorbitant profits being made out of grief.

“The industry has been taking advantage of the fragility of family members organising funerals for years, and the lack of genuine competition on prices is alarming.

“The Government must announce now that it will be supporting the establishment of a comprehensive independent registration and inspection scheme for funeral directors, paid for by the industry but not controlled by it.

“Scotland already has such a scheme and the rest of the UK must follow suit.”

NAFD chief executive Jon Levett said it “shares the CMA’s conclusions that the sector could be more transparent in the way it communicates cost and services information”.

But he added: “Given that the CMA’s own surveys have shown that bereaved people were generally satisfied with the cost and service of funerals arranged, it’s important that any statutory intervention is proportionate; helping bereaved people to make an informed choice, without reducing competition in a sector dominated by small businesses – and recognising that the market has been fundamentally changed by Covid.”

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The loss of a loved one is a painful time for families and the Government is determined to do what it can to ease the burden on them.

“We are carefully considering the CMA’s report and will respond in due course.”

Source: Read Full Article