Latest news with #funeral directors
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Funeral directors warn of new ‘fat tax'
Funeral directors are raising concerns about a "fat tax" where families face additional charges for burying overweight or obese individuals due to larger coffin sizes. A survey by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) revealed that a quarter of funeral directors report their local authorities imposing extra fees for "bariatric burials", ranging from under £100 to more than £1,000 in some areas. Ross Hickton, SAIF's national president, condemned these additional costs as discriminatory, arguing they unfairly burden families who have already paid taxes. Wolverhampton Council had considered implementing a 20 per cent extra charge for larger burial plots but has since decided not to proceed with the plan. Controversy also surrounds Wolverhampton Council's reported intention to create a separate section for larger graves at Danescourt Cemetery, which critics view as penalising and stigmatising.
The Sun
5 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Major U-turn on council ‘fat tax' proposal after ‘20% levy' on 6ft-wide graves for bodies ‘too big to bury' sparks fury
A COUNCIL has been forced into a U-turn after it tried to slap grieving families with a so-called 'fat tax' for bigger burial plots. Wolverhampton City Council has ditched plans to charge more for wider graves at Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall, following major backlash from funeral directors and charities. 3 3 3 Danescourt cemetery told families it would cost £2,700 if they need to buy a 6ft wide plot, which is 20 per cent more than a standard 5ft grave. The proposals were made in May after talks with local funeral parlours, but councillors were forced to back down on Thursday after the outcry. The council claimed the higher price tag was due to a rise in demand for larger graves. Statistics from 2021 revealed that a third of Wolverhampton's population was classed as obese, well above the national average of 25.9 per cent. But after public pressure, the council said it had 'decided not to proceed with the plans'. A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson told The Sun: '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.' A source said: 'It looked heartless - grieving families don't need a bill like this on top of everything else.' The move to set aside a special section at Danescourt Cemetery for bigger coffins was given the green light by councillors back in May. Other councils, including Birmingham, Walsall and Coventry, have introduced higher fees for larger burial plots, and Wolverhampton said this was among the reasons behind their original proposal. Trolls say council houses can't look nice but my stunning hallway will prove them wrong Before signing it off, the council said it reached out to 25 local funeral directors for their views - but only 10 replied, and just one raised any objections. Funeral directors condemned the proposed plans before the council changed their mind. Ross Hickton, a fourth-generation funeral director who runs seven branches of his family firm, Hickton Family Funeral Directors, said: 'Essentially it's a fat tax. 'Families are already going through enough when they're bereaved. "People have paid into the system their whole lives and paid local council tax, and now they're being slapped with another tax at the point of death just due to their size.' Hickton acknowledged that space was limited but said the council had 'a duty of care to local residents to ensure burial space is provided' while catering to religions and cultures that practise burial. Wolverhampton resident Rosemarie McLaren told the BBC 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. However, Matthew Crawley, 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 National Association of Funeral Directors warned this year that the width of the average coffin had increased in the past decade from between 18 and 20 inches to between 20 and 24 inches.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Councils slammed for charging ‘fat tax' on burials of larger coffins
Grieving families of obese and overweight people may be stumping up a 'fat tax' when they die in the form of additional burial charges, funeral directors have warned. Some local authorities across the UK now demand extra charges to bury larger coffins, known in the industry as "bariatric burials", with additional costs ranging from under £100 to more than a £1,000 in some areas. A survey of its members by the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) found a quarter of funeral directors now say their local authority charges extra for larger coffins. "The majority of respondents (125 out of 165) indicated that their local cemetery and cremation authority does not charge extra for the burial of large or bariatric coffins. However, a significant minority (40 respondents) reported extra charges," the SAIF said. Speaking to The Independent, Ross Hickton, managing director of Hickton Family Funeral directors in the West Midlands, and who is also the national president of SAIF, said the extra charges were discriminatory. He said: "Obviously families have paid council tax, income tax their entire lives, and now to be slammed with another tax if their loved one is overweight or oversized isn't really fair. He added: "I would call it a fat tax because at the end of the day, people are having to pay extra fees due to their size." The survey was commissioned by SAIF when concerns were raised over Wolverhampton council after it suggested it would implement a 20% extra charge on bariatric burials due to a growing demand for larger graves in cemeteries and graveyards. However, the council has since backtracked on that proposal. Matthew Crawley, chief executive at the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management rejected the idea that additional charges were any kind of "tax" and said local authorities largely "take a measured and reasonable approach in charging for additional space required". "Suitable cemetery land is and has been in crisis for over 20 years, therefore burial space is at a premium,' he said. 'Historically graves in a Victorian cemetery may have been 3'5" wide, and this has increased to 4'5"-5' steadily over several years, suggesting that cemeteries are adapting to requirements rather than applying a 'tax' of any kind." Wolverhampton council has also stoked controversy after its councillors reportedly decided to introduce a new dedicated section for larger graves at the city's Danescourt Cemetery in Tettenhall in May this year. Mr Hickton said: "They've indicated they may open a separate section for bariatric and large coffins in cemeteries. It's a separate section which is penalising and stigmatising. It is absolutely nuts." A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson told The Independent: '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.'
