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Funeral requests not carried out for thousands in Wirral
NEW research
shows that 92% of people in Wirral have decided what they would like
once they have passed away reveals Age Concern. This figure rises to
94% of all people in Britain. However, less than 2% of the British
public has acted on this and made their arrangements. Many have
decided whether they would like to be cremated or buried, although
these last wishes are not always carried out as so few have
pre-planned their funeral. Further research also shows that
55% of people in Wirral would like to be cremated and 37% buried.
However the number of cremations in the UK (72%) overwhelmingly
outweighs the number of burials (28%), which demonstrates the vast
disparity between people’s preferences and how they are finally laid
to rest.
Mark Cheeseman, Age Concern Wirral said:- “Planning in
advance ensures people know their arrangements are settled and that
their wishes are understood. Even personal choices such as selecting
hymns for the service, preferred flowers, and the route for the
cortege can be arranged. Pre-planning can relieve the
organisational burdens and stresses from family and loved ones when
the time comes, as well as help avoid unnecessary financial distress
during a particularly difficult time.”
Regional preferences for cremation and burial also vary. Cremation
is preferred by people in the South East and Anglia (61%) closely
followed by those in the North West (55%) and those living in
Greater London (50%). 42% of people in the South West and Wales say
they would prefer to be buried, compared with 31% in Scotland.
Age Concern Funeral Plan services recognise that while pre-planning
your funeral may not be something people think about everyday, it
does make good financial sense. With the latest figures showing
average cremation funeral costing £2,217 and this figure predicted
to rise to £3,350 by 2012, it is important for loved ones to know
they are arranging the send off that their nearest and dearest would
have wanted. The Age Concern Funeral Plan is designed to
appeal to all with no age restrictions, no medicals required and
guaranteed acceptance. There are 3 Funeral Plan packages available
offering a choice of arrangements and individual requests. Age
Concern’s Funeral Plan provides flexible plans and payment methods
to suit different requirements and is provided in collaboration with
Dignity Caring Funeral Services.
Since Age Concern launched Funeral Plans a decade ago, it has sold
over 120,000 plans.
To find out more about Age Concern Funeral
Plans, call 0800 731 0651 or contact Age Concern Wirral, Unit 2, 142 Claughton
Road, Birkenhead, CH41 6EY. Telephone:- 0151 649 1760. |
Missed opportunity for personal finance in schools
GOVERNMENT has
again missed an important opportunity to give personal finance the
place it deserves in the national schools curriculum, according to
the ifs School of Finance, an educational charity.
The ifs School of Finance was responding to the announcement
by the government and QCA on reforms to secondary education in
England & Wales. As part of the reform package, “economic well
being” is being hailed as a new subject to ensure young people
gain basic skills in personal finance. However, there is
nothing new in the announcement, with most of the changes having
been signalled earlier this year.
Gavin Shreeve, chief executive at the ifs School of Finance, said:-
“We are disappointed that the announcement is no different to
what Government previously committed to, i.e. adding "economic
well being" to Personal Social Health Education (PSHE).
The study of PSHE will remain optional and non-examinable and the
economic well being component will be just one small strand of a
diverse subject.
As Ofsted confirmed, some secondary schools do not teach PSHE at all
because they want to give more space to academic and accredited
subjects. Of those that do teach it, few include any of the Personal
Finance elements that are already supposed to be part of the
subject. The plans therefore appear highly unlikely to change the
financial behaviour of any young person. In contrast,
standalone qualifications in personal finance have been
independently proven to make a positive difference to the way in
which young people make financial decisions. This is why we are
calling on Government to introduce a standalone subject in Personal
Finance so that all students have the opportunity to gain what is an
increasingly crucial life skill.”
The ifs School of Finance is far from alone in believing
schools should be compelled to offer their students the opportunity
to gain these skills through statutory provision. Some 69% of
secondary schools in England & Wales believe financial education
should be made statutory (FSA UK Benchmark Study, June 2006) and
earlier this year both the Building Societies Association and
British Bankers Association called on Government to make financial
education a compulsory part of the curriculum. In addition,
almost 90 MPs have now signed EDM 291 calling on the Government to
ensure all schools offer a standalone qualification in personal
finance.
Earlier this month FSA chief executive John Tiner said that Ed Balls
should, “…ask his new colleagues to find room for financial
education on the mandatory core curriculum at the earliest
opportunity.”
For further information please go to:-
www.financialcapability.co.uk.
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