Latest news with #burialplots
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Council is forced to ditch plans to slap 20 per cent 'fat tax' on wider burial plots after facing a furious backlash
A Labour-run council has been forced to ditch plans to impose a 20 per cent 'fat tax' on wider burial plots after facing a furious backlash. The embarrassing U-turn comes after the City of Wolverhampton Council was accused of 'discrimination' against larger people and a 'lack of empathy' towards grieving families. The premium which was given the go ahead in May would mean a 6ft-wide plot at Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton would cost families £2,700 - a hefty 20 per cent premium on the cost of a standard 5ft grave. However, after facing criticism over the move, a spokesperson for the council said 'we have decided not to proceed with the plans'. Ross Hickton, of Hickton Family Funeral Directors in the West Midlands, said the 'fat tax' would 'push more people into funeral poverty'. 'If you live in Wolverhampton, you have the right to be buried here without extra costs. 'You shouldn't be paying a premium for a basic right. It shows a lack of empathy for what a family goes through.' Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall was due to charge families £2,700 to buy a 6ft wide plot, a 20 per cent increase on the cost of a standard 5ft grave The council said it had considered the extra charge after an increase in demand for larger graves Mr Hickton claimed that the local authority, which has also increased its council tax by the maximum 4.99 per cent, failed to consult the public on the move. 'Wolverhampton passed this under the radar. If you've paid into the system your whole life, through council tax and income tax, you shouldn't be forced to pay an additional 20pc tax,' he added. The council had told the BBC that the extra charge was needed after an increase in demand for larger graves. Rosemarie McLaren who is from Wolverhampton said it was a form of 'discrimination' and that it was 'not acceptable' 'Someone like me who's a bit bigger, is going to be charged [more] because I'm fat,' she added. The city has higher than normal obesity rates of 33.3 per cent, compared with the national average of 25.9 per cent, according to a 2021 survey. A spokesperson said the local authority contacted 25 funeral directors serving the city and 10 responded with only one objection. The council said the extra costs reflected 'the increased costs incurred in providing them, including disposing of the additional soil'. 'Many other local councils, including Birmingham and Walsall, charge higher fees for larger graves', the spokesperson added. However, a City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson told the Mail this afternoon: 'No formal decision was ever taken on plans to charge more for larger burial plots. 'This is a common practice taken by councils around the country where higher charges cover the costs of providing a larger plot. 'However, while under consideration, we have decided not to proceed with the plans.' The BBC found that a third of 27 local authorities in the West Midlands charged more for wider graves including Telford, Birmingham, Walsall, Coventry and Staffordshire. Houghton Regis Town Council in Bedfordshire was one of the first council's to introduce higher prices for larger coffins by doubling fees back in 2009 taking the cost from £364 to £728. It's website states: 'Where the coffin width is such that the burial encroaches into the next available burial plot, such that it cannot be used, the above fees will be increased by 50per cent.'
The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Wolverhampton cemetery's extra fee for wider graves criticised as ‘fat tax'
Residents of Wolverhampton have criticised plans for what is being called a 'fat tax' on burial plots after a city cemetery imposed a premium on wider graves. Danescourt cemetery in Tettenhall will charge an extra 20% to families whose loved ones need a 6ft-wide plot, as opposed to a standard 5ft grave. Wolverhampton council said the price premium was in response to an increase in obesity levels in the city, where a third of people are obese, compared with the national average of just over a quarter. The council said it had contacted 25 funeral directors before introducing the measure, with only one of them posing an objection. The funeral director Ross Hickton told the BBC the charge was a 'fat tax' and that it was 'not really acceptable or fair'. He said: 'You know people have paid into the system their entire life, paid their council tax to Wolverhampton council, and for them to be told [the grave is] 20% more because of the size of their loved one, it's not really acceptable or fair.' Matthew Crawley, the chief executive at the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management, said the charge seemed reasonable. 'You have a finite amount of space to work with; therefore if you need to eat into a grave next door, say, then that needs to be accounted for,' he said. 'You also have to account for the idea that digging the grave itself will also need extra equipment to keep it safe.' The costs, the council said, reflected 'the increased costs incurred in providing [wider graves], including disposing of the additional soil'. 'Many other local councils, including Birmingham and Walsall, charge higher fees for larger graves,' it said. Across the UK, the picture is mixed. A survey by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors of its members found a quarter of local authorities charged extra for wider burial plots. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion There was also a concern in Wolverhampton for couples who wanted to be buried together, but where one was already buried in a standard plot while the other needed to be buried in a larger grave. At Danescourt, the council said, 'while space allows, [families] will still be able to choose to place larger coffins at the end of existing rows' at no extra cost'. But otherwise, the council told a funeral director in an email seen by the BBC, the family would 'have to consider burying the bariatric partner elsewhere, purchasing a second grave or exhuming the first partner to ensure they can be buried together'.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Criticism of Wolverhampton burial 'fat tax' at council cemetery
The introduction by a council of a so-called "fat tax" for wider burial plots at one of its cemeteries has been criticised by residents and a funeral Danescourt cemetery in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, it will cost families £2,700 if they need to buy a 6ft wide plot, a 20% increase on the cost of a standard 5ft grave. Funeral director Ross Hickton said the decision was "not really acceptable or fair" and labelled it a "fat tax".A spokesperson for the City of Wolverhampton Council said it was responding to an increase in demand for larger graves, with obesity rates of 33.3% in the city compared to a national average of 25.9%, according to a 2021 survey. Wolverhampton resident Rosemarie McLaren said she felt the move was "discrimination, it's not acceptable"."Someone like me who's a bit bigger, is going to be charged [more] because I'm fat," she added. The decision to create a new dedicated section at Danescourt for larger coffins was taken by councillors in May. A spokesperson said, before the approval, the authority contacted 25 funeral directors who serve the city to ask for their thoughts and 10 responded with one objection. But Mr Hickton, from Hickton Family Funeral Directors, an independent company with seven branches across the West Midlands, said the consultation was "meaningless" and "didn't involve the public at all". "Essentially it's a fat tax," he said. "You know people have paid into the system their entire life, paid their council tax to Wolverhampton Council, and for them to be told [the grave is] 20% more because of the size of their loved one, it's not really acceptable or fair." Another Wolverhampton resident, Selena Harris, who lives in the city with her young family, was worried how people would afford it. "It doesn't seem right, especially in a deprived area." she said. Ms Harris believed the council introduced the extra charges "to [try] and recoup costs, because councils are struggling at the moment". The council strenuously denied the claim. Their spokesperson said they were doing it because it was needed and the extra costs reflected "the increased costs incurred in providing them, including disposing of the additional soil". "Many other local councils, including Birmingham and Walsall, charge higher fees for larger graves", they said, adding that costs for wider burial plots in Wolverhampton were similar or cheaper than in neighbouring authorities. The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors surveyed its members to ask if their local councils charged more for wider plots. Of the 165 who replied, a quarter said yes. The BBC contacted 27 local authorities in the West Midlands and just over a third said they charged more for wider burial plots. However, not everyone the BBC spoke to was against the idea. Russell Smallman, from Castlecroft, said: "There's a lot of obesity these days."A lot of [people] bring it on themselves and they're not interested in doing anything about it, so I don't know whether you can sympathise really." Mr Hickton, who is also the president of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors, said other funeral firms he had spoken to also had firm asked the council what would happen if a couple wanted to be buried together but one was already in a standard grave at Danescourt and the other needed a wider plot in the bariatric section. The BBC saw an email to the funeral directors which said families might ''have to consider burying the bariatric partner elsewhere, purchasing a second grave or exhuming the first partner to ensure they can be buried together". ''It truly is shocking, clearly the local authority has not taken into account family feelings here," Mr Hickton added."This is just an extra stress, burden and worry that a family really shouldn't have to go through." The council did not respond specifically to that point but in a statement to the BBC their spokesperson said: "We are committed to ensuring our bereavement services continue to provide dignity and accessibility for all families." They added that "while space allows, [families] will still be able to choose to place larger coffins at the end of existing rows at Danescourt at no extra cost". Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
