§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what evidence he has about trends in the cost of burials and cremations in the past decade; and how such trends compare with price changes in general.
§ Mr. Rossi:The cost of funerals and those of burials and cremations are not matters within my Department's responsibility. The best evidence that I have of the costs of funerals in 1972 is the Price Commission's report No. 22—"Funeral Charges"—published in 1977. This indicates that the average basic minimum charge for services and disbursements in 1972 was about £90.
The best evidence that I have of costs in 1982 is an estimate by the National Association of Funeral Directors, of between £300 and £600 according to the locality and services provided. If the lowest of these were taken as being the most comparable figure, the increase would be 233 per cent., compared with an increase of 272 per cent. in the retail price index.