Funeral Service Times August 2017 November 2018 | Page 5

DISPATCHES
The average Brit
contemplates their own
death for 55 years
Brits first consider their own death aged 26 and women are more
likely than men to think about their own mortality
The average Brit contemplates their own mortality for more than
half a century, according to Co-op’s 'biggest ever' survey into death,
dying and bereavement.
The funeral provider’s research revealed that age 26 is when
Brits first consider their own death, with a third of all adults doing
so at least once a week. With life expectancy now topping 80, this
means people on average are spending 55 years having deadly
thoughts. Despite thinking about death, the majority 41 percent of
people have not yet planned for the inevitable.
The findings, released in Co-op’s broader report 'Making Peace
With Death', highlighted that further action may be needed to tackle
the nation’s last taboo.
Although 91 percent have thought about their own mortality,
it’s not something Brits will openly talk about. Findings highlighted
that terrorism, celebrity deaths and external news reports were
amongst the top 10 reasons for people to consider their own
mortality.
Brits overcharged almost
£600m for funerals every
year, research finds
The study by Beyond found that the UK overspends on funerals by
half a billion each year, paying on average 35 percent more than
they need to
New research has found that British people are being
overcharged for funerals by almost £600m every year, paying on
average 35 percent more than they need to.
Funeral comparison site Beyond commissioned the research
which found the average price paid for a funeral is now £3,757,
meaning with more than 600,000 deaths in the UK last year, the
national overspend comes to £590.8m.
www.funeralservicetimes.co.uk
Portchester Crematorium
celebrates 60th
anniversary
The crematorium has laid more than 130,000 people to rest –
making it one of the 10 busiest in the country
Portchester Crematorium in Fareham, Portsmouth, has celebrated
its 60th anniversary, commemorating its role as being the final
resting place for thousands of residents from Fareham, Portsmouth,
Havant and Gosport for the last six decades.
Situated on the lower slopes of Portsdown Hill, between Fareham
and Portsmouth, the crematorium opened in 1958 and has now laid
more than 130,000 people to rest – making it one of the 10 busiest
crematoriums in the country.
Run by a joint committee of councillors representing Portsmouth,
Fareham, Havant and Gosport, the crematorium has had just three
registrars since it opened: James Clark, Ted Appleton and Chris
Johns. For three years the trio even worked together at varying
stages of their careers.
Current manager and registrar, James Clark, started work at the
crematorium at the age of 18 and has been there for the last 35
years. He said: “The crematorium is such an important place for
everyone in the area as most people have visited it at some stage
of their lives. It has changed massively over the last 60 years –
both building-wise with changes to the chapels, cloisters, waiting
rooms and behind the scenes there have been huge changes with
equipment to make operations more environmentally sensitive.”
The UK funeral industry is currently worth more than £2bn
every year, however, rising costs have prompted the Competition
and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate the sector. Beyond’s
research suggested the trade is overcharging by 35 percent.
Beyond said this was contributing to a “growing funeral poverty
problem”. The average funeral debt taken on has reached a record
high of £1,744 and 12 percent of the country struggles to cover
funeral costs, taking the total funeral debt in the UK to £131m.
Lower cost options such as direct cremation have also grown
in popularity in recent years, prompted by high prices. In June, the
CMA began its consultation amid concerns over the spiralling costs
in the funeral sector and is expected to deliver a preliminary report
before the end of the year.
James Dunn, co-founder of Beyond, said: “One of the problems
with the funeral industry is that it is dominated by a handful
of chains. Their prices tend to be far higher than independent
providers and all this means is that the rich keep getting richer –
and it’s consumers who feel the pinch.
“With issues like funeral poverty no longer able to be ignored, it
is reassuring to see the CMA considering intervening. Now that we
know that the scale of the problem is as much as £600m a year, it
will be interesting to see what steps they may recommend in the
near future to prevent this worsening.”
NOVEMBER 2018
5