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"Our stance is that burials or cremations are not a matter of choice as in business, they are a legal necessity". Mervyn Pilley, CEO of the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors

The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) believe that the failure of London Mayor Ken Livingstone to exempt funeral directors from the new London congestion charges is effectively a tax on death.

The Society, which represents some 600 independent funeral directors including some of the country's oldest established businesses, acknowledges that affected members will do all they can to absorb some of the additional cost, but advises that ultimately it will be passed on to the bereaved families.

CEO Mervyn Pilley states, "With a number of vehicles including private ambulances, limousines and a hearse being involved in most funerals, the increase in costs is significant. Add to this the cost mourners must pay individually for using their own transport and you have a substantial increase on the overall cost consumers must bear for the funeral of a relative or friend. We believe this charge to be totally unreasonable. It is effectively a tax on death".

SAIF also points out that this will place unnecessary pressures of choice on both families and funeral directors located close to the congestion charge borders as well as penalising those who must travel through the zone to attend a funeral.

Mervyn Pilley adds "It is common practice for people to travel to areas they would not normally visit simply to attend a funeral and pay their respects. Surely it is enough that such mourners must find their way to an unknown area without adding the confusion and cost of pre-booking their entry into the area in which the funeral is held".

SAIF estimates that some sixteen thousand funerals annually will be affected, at a total additional cost of some £375,000. The Society is already making representations to the Mayor and to Traffic for London, but so far their pleas for exemption have been turned down.

"The basis of refusal to date" states Mr Pilley "is that funerals are a business like any other, and so an exception can't be made. Our stance is that burials or cremations are not a matter of choice as in business, they are a legal necessity. Even in the cases where no funeral director is involved, vehicles carrying mourners and indeed the coffin itself will be subject to the charge. Londoners and indeed those in adjoining areas are therefore being taxed on a bereavement".

Further information

Mervyn Pilley (National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors)
Tel: 01279 726777
Email: mervyn@saif.org.uk

Jon Rose (Optimus Public Relations)
Tel: 01707 871518 Fax: 01707 393911
Email: jon@optimuspr.co.uk

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