FOI Request - Burial Costs

Request 101003934776

1. Burial Fees and Surcharges

a) 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?

i) If yes, what is the current "Resident" fee vs. the "Non-Resident" fee for:

aa) A standard adult interment (burial).

bb) The purchase of the "Exclusive Right of Burial" (the lease for the plot).

ii) 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:

a) The total gross income received by the council from all burial and cemetery-related payments.

b) The total income specifically generated from the non-resident surcharge (i.e., the "extra" amount paid by non-residents above the standard resident rate).

c) 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.

d) If you could provide this info in an Excel spreadsheet that would be great.

3. Policy and Rationale

a) Please provide the date when the current non-resident fee structure was brought in

Response 06-03-2026

1.

a) Yes, although there are exemptions in place.

i)

aa) A standard adult interment (burial).
Resident: £1495
Non Resident: £2745

bb) The purchase of the "Exclusive Right of Burial" (the lease for the plot).

Resident: £1311
Non Resident: £2776

ii) The non-Moray resident fee is applied to any person who is not a resident in Moray at the time of their death, unless:

a. They were receiving any assessment for, or provision of, Community Care services from Moray Council – including if this resulted in the Council providing new accommodation outside Moray, e.g., community care placement in Aberdeenshire and/or the deceased continued to hold a residence in Moray at the time of their death.
b. The deceased had left Moray for personal medical or care reasons prior to their death and whose death occurs within 2 years of leaving Moray and wish to be buried in the area.
c. The interment is a second or third interment in an existing lair (exemption for the interments fees only).

2.

a)

22/23 £785,424
23/24 £733,279
24/25 £808,272

b) Not tracked. Information that is not held falls under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 - Information not held.

c)

22/23        37  Full          52 ashes
23/24        34  Full          46 ashes    
24/25        30  Full          49 ashes

d)

3. Policy and Rationale

a) 2020/21