Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2016
Very few of us plan and discuss our intentions for when we pass on or, importantly, how we will pay for the arrangements. My own parents are an exception—they have even picked their hymns. They were concerned about the cost of their funerals, and they bought funeral plans in 2010. I realise, however, that many people who do not have savings simply cannot afford to put money aside for a funeral. There is strong evidence regarding funeral poverty. I am in contact with the Dundee pensioners forum, and I am learning from its members’ experiences.
I welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement that it is to host the first national conference to tackle funeral poverty, but I feel that the minister has missed an opportunity to address the issue of funeral poverty in the bill. Even the Government consultation document failed to grasp the issue, by just focusing on local authorities publishing fees online and cost recovery, rather than the full cost of funerals.
The bill also ought to address the national assistance duty. A good friend of mine works full time but in a low-paid job and, about a year ago, he was consequently not eligible for a social fund funeral payment and could not afford to bury his mother. Due to the shame that he felt, he did not disclose that until a few months afterwards. He felt a huge amount of guilt and shame at not being able to mark his mother’s life in the way that he wanted. He realised that he could not afford the cheapest funeral at the local funeral directors, and he did not know what to do.
My friend spoke to a bereavement counsellor, and it was only during his fourth visit that the counsellor mentioned the national assistance funeral scheme. He was not aware that local authorities had a duty, but would perform it only if nobody would claim—so he did not claim his mother’s body. Although he was grateful for the scheme, he felt the stigma of his mother being buried in what is colloquially known as a pauper’s grave. He did not know that he could have attended the burial.
In its consultation response, the Scottish working group on funeral poverty stated:
“the National Assistance funeral system is fundamentally not working and needs serious reform.”
A number of local authorities noted in their consultation responses their difficulties with the national assistance scheme and stated that people are getting in contact with them because of their families’ financial difficulties. I strongly urge the minister to consider the issue and perhaps lodge an amendment at stage 2 to ensure that the bill goes further than the current commitments and fully addresses funeral poverty.
I turn to the proposal to reuse graves. I understand the pressure on burial grounds, I appreciate that land is a finite resource and I note that Angus Council’s submission says that 25 to 30 per cent of lairs that it has sold have not been used. However, an analysis of the consultation responses shows that only 37 per cent of respondents were in favour of the proposal. I think that the convener of the Local Government and Regeneration Committee noted the low level of engagement on the topic; in total, there were only 180 consultation responses.
The financial memorandum is disappointing, particularly in the context of local government cuts, because it overlooks the impact on local government.
I fully support Nigel Don’s recommendations, which were discussed at the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.
16:46