The Church of Scotland has welcomed a report on the costs of funerals which recommends a full investigation into the industry.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) released an interim report into funeral costs at the end of November, which revealed that the price of the essential elements has increased by more than two-thirds in a decade, almost three times the rate of inlation. It added that the scale of price rises ‘does not currently appear to be justiied by cost increases or quality improvements’.

The CMA also announced that it was consulting on launching a Market Investigation which would carry signiicant powers to limit the prices of funerals, should it ind them necessary.

Andrea Coscelli, chief executive of the CMA, said: “People mourning the loss of a loved one are extremely vulnerable and at risk of being exploited. We need to make sure that they are protected at such an emotional time, and we’re very concerned about the substantial increases in funeral prices over the past decade.

“We now feel that the full powers of a market investigation are required to address the issues we have found. We also want to hear from people who have experienced poor practices in the sector, so that we can take any action needed to ix these problems.”

The Rev Bryan Kerr, the Church of Scotland’s representative on the Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty, said:

“We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s report on the cost of funerals which sends a clear message about the scourge of funeral poverty.

“No one should be plunged into debt to say goodbye to a loved one and given one of the largest increases in the cost of funerals have been local authority burial charges, we would urge the CMA to take this into account during its proposed market investigation.

“The Church of Scotland is committed to working with individuals and communities to ensure that funerals are carried out with dignity, no matter the economic situation of the family concerned, and the service of ministers is provided free of charge.”