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.”
The council did not comment on its plans to introduce a separate area for larger graves at Danescourt Cemetery.
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