Review of fees and charges for Bereavement Services
To review the current cremation and reservation fees.
Cremation fees:
Some cremation service times are generally more popular than others, and some increase the cost of the provision of the service due to requiring longer working hours etc. Earlier cremation service times are rarely used, so a lower charge may encourage higher usage.
It is proposed that a review of the current service times and fees is to be completed, with a comparison against neighbouring authorities, with a view to introducing differential charges.
Grave reservation fees:
The current fee for reserving a grave where no burial is due to take place is £300. Excavating grave reserved graves means that rather than excavating as a new grave, ie. with direct access and no obstacles, when a reserved grave is excavated, it usually requires the excavation to be carried out in an established section. This results in memorials creating obstructions and staging often must be erected to enable the soil to be placed without damaged neighbouring graves and the excavation will be carried out in a restricted area, usually taking longer and often requiring excavation by hand rather than machinery. Demand for reserving graves is increasing. A recent comparison with other local authorities has demonstrated that some are applying significant additional charges for families to reserve graves where no immediate burial is taking place, in recognition of the additional time and cost to excavate a grave ‘out of sequence’.
It is proposed that the current grave reservation fee is increased, in year, from £300 to £450.
If there is an approved change to the current cremation and reservation fee it is expected to be introduced in December 2024, due to the notice period that needs to be given. The April 2024 fee will be applied to any bookings already taken prior to the new fee being implemented, regardless of when the service will be taking place.