How much are local cremation costs?

The BBC obtained information on local cremation costs made by Local Authorities and the rapid rate at which they are rising. Costs vary from a modest £360 to a substantial £1080 – and it may well be that some crematoria who did not reply charge even more! Remember that these are only part of the cost of a funeral (our local advisers will be happy to go into more detail for those interested in investing in a prepaid funeral plan.)  If you look down the table they produced, you will see some incredibly large increases, all many, many times the general rate of inflation. There was just one honourable exception where the cremation cost was actually reduced.

Interestingly, the variation between the cheapest and most expensive is a multiple of THREE – so you could cremate three people in one area for the cost of cremating one in the most expensive (whose neighbours are cheaper!)  Bear in mind that these are all Local Authority operations, and you have to question the extreme variations in cost.

Cremation Costs v Burial Costs

Burial costs are normally far more, and although reasonable cremation or burial costs are usually covered by a proper prepaid funeral plan, purchase of the burial plot is not. Having said that, the overwhelming majority of funeral plans we arrange for people are – at their choice – for local cremations.  Anyone wishing to be cremated in the more expensive locations would be well advised to make extra provision (ask our folk.)

So why are cremation costs going up so much?

1. Pressure on Local Authorities to balance budgets is clearly a major cause.

2. Environmental Law has added very substantial costs to the running of crematoria. One Local Authority quoted an investment of £1.8 million, a lot of money. If the filters are not fitted, the crematorium is “fined” £53 for every cremation.

One way of dramatically reducing costs would be to have 24 hour 7 day operation of this expensive equipment, but that, we suspect, would be deeply unpopular and would force a reduction in the number of crematoria and increase travelling times to attend a funeral.

That said, there are an increasing number of privately run cremation facilities and some interesting alternatives which have yet to impact the UK funeral market.

Local Cremation Cost Table

Note: not all authorities had set 2015-16 charges when the figures were obtained so the previous years figure has been used which will make them appear cheaper than they really are. These are indicated by an *.

Local cremation fees are not that straightforward: some times of day may be more expensive than others, there may be extras with some which are included with others, and other variables.

For reference purposes, inflation alone would have added about 10.5% to cremation fees.

Local Cremation costs.