Support for bereaved on low incomes

Funeral poverty exists when the cost of a funeral is beyond a person’s ability to pay. One-in-seven people are now said to experience serious financial difficulty when paying for a funeral.

Lincolnshire Co-op, which has a funeral home in Boston, has signed up to the Fair Funerals pledge to help address the issue.

The pledge was launched by anti-poverty charity Quaker Social Action which supports people on low incomes struggling with funeral costs. Its Fair Funerals campaign is working with government, charities and funeral directors to tackle the growing problem of funeral poverty.

It means Lincolnshire Co-op agrees to:

l Recognise that funerals can be expensive and many people struggle with the cost

l Help people to find funerals that are within their means 

l Be open about its most affordable options – including third party costs – in initial conversations, within its price lists and on its website. 

Lincolnshire Co-op’s head of funeral services David Dernley said: “We’re proud to have signed up to the pledge and do our bit to help tackle the growing issue of funeral poverty.”

For more on the Fair Funerals pledge, visit fairfuneralscampaign.org.uk