Increases in crematorium charges have been branded ‘scandalous’ and a ‘Tory plan to rip off the bereaved’.
The Isle of Wight Council budget last week raised crematorium and cemetery charges by 7%— increasing the cost of some cremations to over £1,000.
Speaking at the budget meeting, cabinet member for strategic resources, Councillor Stuart Hutchinson said the council must provide a ‘high quality and reliable service’ but to do that requires income. He said:
“We have seen huge pressures on those facilities during the pandemic. We will review and benchmark the costs so they are in line with good quality providers elsewhere — we don’t want to be the highest cost but we won’t provide a lesser service.”
Cabinet member for community safety, Councillor Gary Peace, said 7% sounds like a lot but it only kept the council at the average level across the South East of England.
Opposition councillors Andrew Garratt (Lib Dem) and Geoff Brodie (independent Labour) had proposed only raising charges by 2%, keeping in line with inflation.
Cllr Garratt said the increase was “just completely wrong. It is scandalous to think we would put up the charges at this time,” he said. Cllr Brodie said to view the 7% increase as ‘not a lot’ was “typical of the lack of connection to ordinary people the Conservative Party have” and called the rise a “Tory plan to rip off the bereaved” which was “morally indefensible”.
Prices will increase for a standard cremation from £863 to £924 (£61 increase), a direct cremation – with no service and no attendees – from £450 to £482 (£32 increase) and the cost of a cremation including the use of the organ and organist with a biodegradable urn from £943 to £1,009 (£66 increase).
The price of interment for an adult will increase from £1,135 to £1,215 and cremated remains from £314 to £335.
A full space for a burial will increase to £852 from £796 and for a half-space an extra £31, to £471 from £440.
The new prices will come into place from 1st April, the start of the 2021/22 financial year.
no service and no attendees – from £450 to £482
since when did it cost that much to fire up an incinerator – they are just rinsing the public for more money, knowing full well, that we cannot exactly shop around or have a DIY funeral in the back garden.
You can be buried in your garden, there’s are some things you can do, but, yes you can.
Take a look here.
https://simplydead.co.uk/2018/11/09/garden-burial/
thanks jack – worth knowing!!
How can it cost £852 to dig a hole? Well, I suppose the Council need to raise the money to replace their fleet of Council vehicles, don’t they? And that new air conditioning in their building. One would have thought they’d just had their ‘best season ever’, since the start of the pandemic!
The council should hang their heads in shame, absolutely bloody disgusting.
Official IWC response: “Don’t like it, fine, take your body elsewhere”?
Most people don’t earn the wage the council feels fit to” award” themselves with.
You are not connected to the masses as you will find out come the local elections. Bye Bye to all them perks.
Wrong place to raise money, it’s just plain Wrong.
What’s not Wrong is shuting down that failed expensive monstrosity they call a floating bridge!, but no, this grubby council will punish families of the dead…
Next, this council will put parking meters in grave yards…
When you are alive, they fleece you, when you are dead they fleece you.
How bloody true well said
One day they will leave office and won’t be held account for all the c–k ups they have done to the island and lets us hope they need the crematorium sooner then they think