FOI002683 FOI Cemeteries

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding the burial fees and policies of your council. Specifically, I am seeking details on the charges applied to residents versus non-residents and the income generated from these services.

Please provide the following information:

1. Burial Fees and Surcharges
•    Does the council currently apply a surcharge or increased fee for the burial of individuals who lived outside the borough/council at the time of their death?
•    If yes, what is the current "Resident" fee vs. the "Non-Resident" fee for:
o    A standard adult interment (burial).
o    The purchase of the "Exclusive Right of Burial" (the lease for the plot).
•    What is the specific criteria used to define a "Non-Resident" (e.g., number of years lived outside the borough)?

2. Financial Data For the most recent completed financial years (2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25), please provide:
•    The total gross income received by the council from all burial and cemetery-related payments.
•    The total income specifically generated from the non-resident surcharge (i.e., the "extra" amount paid by non-residents above the standard resident rate).
•    If the specific surcharge income is not tracked as a separate line item, please provide the total number of non-resident burials conducted in the same financial year.
•    If you could provide this info in an Excel spreadsheet that would be great.

3. Policy and Rationale
•    Please provide the date when the current non-resident fee structure was brought in
Format of Response: If any of this information is already published on your website, please provide the direct links to the relevant documents or pages.