Bereavement charges by Caerphilly County Borough Council are to rise by 18.5% plus inflation every year for the next five years.
Councillor’s sitting on the authority’s cabinet took the decision on Tuesday after looking at a report by council officers recommending the fee rise.
The charges include the costs of burial, interment, memorials and headstone permits.
In 2008, cabinet reviewed a similar report with the recommendation that bereavement charges be increased by 18.5% plus inflation for the next five years.
However, councillors decided to increase the fees by 10% plus inflation for a period of two years, and to then undertake a further review.
This time, following recommendations from various councillor committees, cabinet decided to implement the increases and also agreed to review the policy in five years.
Cllr Colin Mann, deputy leader of Caerphilly Council said: “Our Bereavement Services team are committed to providing for first class standard of service, and while we fully appreciate how sensitive an issue this is, in order to continue to drive standards up and generate further improvements in our cemeteries, an increase in the fees for this service is necessary.”
How unbeleivable it is for Plaid Cymru to shout about their council tax freeze in the months running up to the recent Welsh Assembly election. Shortly after the election its announced that bereavement charges are set to rise by 18.5%. Nobody should beleive Plaid when they say they are protecting the pockets of the hard pressed people in the borough.
Colin Mann argues above that "in order to continue to drive standards up and generate further improvements in our cemeteries, an increase in the fees for this service is necessary.”
Colin Mann and the rest of Plaid Cymru no doubt have to raise bereavement fees by such eye – watering levels because they have refused, for political reasons, to freeze council tax.
Its time Plaid Cymru stopped shouting about their council tax freeze and started demonstrating honesty with the voters. Put simply, a freeze means stealth taxes elsewhere. This type of rise in bereavement fees will hit the poorest hardest and Plaid should be mindfull that people are not easily fooled. If Plaid want to reduce bereavement fees I can offer them good advice. Stop with the self – promoting propoganda and scrap the Plaid Cymru Express (sorry newsline). The amount of money saved by doing away with this rag could help reduce the cost of burials.
The Condem Government are already squeezing pensioners, heating and lighting bill up at least 15% this coming winter, Food prices already up 6% to 9% in the last three months and set to go much higher if we are to believe all the publicity.
At the end of all this unecessery suffering by elderly pensioners of Caerphilly Plaid Cymru jump on the same upward spiralling cost bandwagon and increase bereaement charges by an unbelievable 18.5%, absolutely avoidable, this is determmined effort to squeeze the citizens of the borough until the pips squeek, disgrace and shame on those who took this decision,
Caerphilly Councils Plaid Cymru are clearly abandoning thier policy of not increasing taxes to the citizens of the borough, this is a `Tax` which everyone who wishes to avail themselves of civic bereavement facilities in thier home towns up and down the valley will have to pay, Shame on you all.
I am not entirely surprised by this hefty increase. The council made much of their policy of not decreasing the council workforce, during the assembly elections. The fact is that this policy has to be paid for; hence the massive rise, year on year, on bereavement services. This, I believe, will not be the last stealth tax we hear of.
Perhaps the council cabinet, who meet in opulent surroundings at Ty Penallta, has reasoned that the voters will not notice this tax increase. Perhaps their gamble will pay off and they will all be re-elected in next years election. I have my doubts.
Richard- There is absolutely no justification, certainly not in the terms put forward by Colin Mann for this increase ,AT THIS TIME, other than it is "in order to continue to drive standards up and generate further improvements in our cemeteries,".( Quote Councillor Colin Mann) So far as I understand it can only be costs to "service burials", because that is all the council does in this respect, which will have risen, i.e. fleets of brand new council vans for staff,protective clothing, etc,However Colin Mann says it is to drive up standards and `improve` cemeteries`, the fact is that if the council simply decided to `tread water` on these issues until after the current financial squeeze has eased it may be better recieved, but still unacceptable all the same.
"If it ain`t broke dont mend it, do what you do now, and, at the standards you do it, forget driving up standards which are already perfectly acceptable to everyone, and reverse this appalling unsustainable decision".