Taxpayers could foot the bill for a rise in funeral costs, a bereavement charity has warned.
Stewart Wilson, chief executive of Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland, said the increase in charges for adult burials is a “major concern”.
The Scottish average for interment fees is now £526, with the purchase of a lair at £602 for a coffin and £370 for a casket.
Most local authorities increase their charges on an annual basis but they are different in each area.
Mr Wilson warned that making funerals too expensive will leave many people simply unable to pay and see the council ultimately saddled with the bill.
The cost rises have also led to fears of an increase in the number of paupers’ graves.
He said: “At a time when many families are already struggling to make ends meet, the unexpected cost of a funeral can bring additional anxiety and challenge.
“Grief following the death of someone close is hard, and to worry about whether you can afford to pay for the funeral, or to have to borrow money to do so, adds considerably to that pain and makes the grieving more difficult.
“There is, potentially, a danger for councils taking this route. If funerals become too expensive, relatives may simply not be able to pay in which case the whole cost of the funeral falls on the council, which has the ultimate responsibility for disposing of the dead.”
Mr Wilson was speaking after Aberdeenshire Council agreed to increase its burial fees and charges to bring it into line with the Scottish average.
Interment fees for over-16s are going up from £483 to £526 to match the Scottish average and the cost for under-16s will rise from £179 to £246.
The purchase of a lair will also increase from £332 to £467 for a coffin, and from £177 to £274 for a casket.
However, the local authority will make no charge for stillborn babies and children under the age of five.
The new costs in the Mearns will still be below those in the Angus, Dundee, Fife and Perth and Kinross authorities.
The average cost of a funeral in Scotland is now around £3,500 an increase of 80% over the past ten years.
As much as half of that sum is accounted for by burial or cremation costs, which are set by local authorities.
The cost of a coffin lair in 2013 was £506 in Angus, £550 in Dundee, £336 in Falkirk, £564 in Fife, £790 in Perth and Kinross and £753 in Stirling. Argyll and Bute had the highest charge at £1,681 whilst the fee was £1,120 in South Lanarkshire and £1,109 in both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Mr Wilson added: “Cruse Bereavement Care Scotland welcomes the abolition of charges for the burial of stillborn babies and children under five, particularly if this includes the provision of children’s lairs at no charge.
“Paying for a baby or child’s funeral is clearly a major worry for young parents, who often have no assets. However, the increase in charges for adult burials is a major concern.”
Councils have a duty to dispose of bodies where no one else takes responsibility. Known as paupers’ funerals, the deceased is given a simple service before being cremated or buried in a communal grave.
Disposals without ceremony now account for almost half of funerals in Canada, though only a few funeral directors in Scotland currently offer this service.