THE leader of Redditch’s Conservative group was told ‘she had not read the document’ after trying to make political capital out of an increase in council cremation charges for next year.
Councillor Juliet Brunner (Con, M’boro) had accused the controlling Labour group of being agents of ‘funeral poverty’ after highlighting a 33 per cent rise in interment costs from £463.50 to £590 at Tuesday night’s borough executive committee meeting.
This was despite Redditch having the lowest cremation costs of all the other local authorities in Worcestershire – all Conservative controlled – and one of the lowest in the country.
Coun Brunner said: “By this large hike in prices you are bringing funeral poverty to people, you are hitting people at their most vulnerable.”
However Coun Debbie Chance (Lab, Central) portfolio holder for local environment, hit back, highlighting the council’s new ‘direct cremation’ service, which costs £395, and was introduced specifically to combat ‘funeral poverty’.
“You have not read the document properly,” she said. “We are the third cheapest in the country. We try and have a sensitive charging policy and with this in place we can improve our service which is already very highly thought off.”
Coun Brunner then questioned the number of slots available for the new cremation service – earmarked for two a day – and asked what the waiting times were.
An officer replied that the crematorium was working at just 69 per cent capacity and more slots could easily be made available – “the capacity is what it needs to be,” he said.
Coun John Fisher (Lab, M’boro) led the condemnation of Coun Brunner’s tactics: “I have been biting my tongue; I am offended that we have been accused of bringing funeral poverty to Redditch and using people’s grieving to balance the books,” he said.
“We provide a high quality service and what you are accusing us of is quite disgraceful.”
