Summary: Mrs X complained the Council’s literature about grave plots and grave coverings at the cemetery was misleading. The Council failed to provide Mrs X with detailed information about graves. The information it did provide was misleading which meant she purchased a grave she would not have otherwise chosen. The Council agreed to amend its literature and pay Mrs X £150 to recognise the distress this caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council’s literature about grave plots and grave coverings was misleading. Mrs X says this caused her to buy a grave for her father she would have not otherwise purchased. Mrs X further complained the Council failed to address a drainage problem prior to burials occurring. Mrs X said this caused her family distress and upset.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the documents Mrs X provided and discussed the complaint with her on the telephone.
5. I considered the documents provided by the Council.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Guidance

7. The Guide for Burial Ground Managers 2005 summarises the legislation around the maintenance of burial grounds and provides guidance for good management of cemeteries. It states council cemeteries must be kept in good order and state of repair. It also states councils need to be aware of health and safety risks arising from the management of cemeteries and take appropriate steps to mitigate the risks.
8. The guidance sets out councils need to provide members of the public with clear and accessible information about service availability and options and fees.

Council information

9. The Council’s website states funeral arrangements can be made directly with the Council. It says being aware and informed of the options helps people to make the decisions for a funeral. It invites members of the public to speak with a member of the Bereavement Services Team to discuss burial and funeral arrangements.
10. The Cemetery (Extension) - Grave Options booklet provides information on the four different types of grave options. It states ‘the size of all full grave spaces within the extension has been increased in order to accommodate correspondingly larger coffins, and also to provide additional space between graves’.
11. The booklet refers to graves with a ‘full personalisation area’. It explains the graves in the section are ten foot in length and set in back-to-back rows. Each grave has a designated personalisation area enclosed by a collar surround which measures six foot seven inches in length. The leaflet has a photograph of a single grave with full personalisation collar, and below that two graves side by side with full personalisation collars.
12. The Council also has a single page leaflet with four photographs of graves, one for each option, and a single sentence description.

What happened

13. In 2021 Mrs X’s father, Mr D died. Mrs X contacted the Council’s Bereavement Service on the phone to discuss the options for Mr D’s burial. Mrs X states based on the conversation she decided to purchase a full grave with a full personalisation collar. She felt this would best fit Mr D’s wishes to be on his own and her wish to be able to walk around his grave.
14. After the telephone call the Council’s Bereavement Service sent Mrs X an email with a number of documents attached. The email included the rules and regulations of the cemetery, a map and the single page leaflet of the cemetery extension grave options. The leaflet had four options. One option was described as a ‘full size lawn grave with a full personalisation collar’. The leaflet shows a photograph of a single grave on its own which would allow a person to walk freely around it. A sentence describes ‘double-row graves’ with a collar surround of approximately six foot seven inches in length.
15. Mrs X approached a Funeral Director and informed them of her choice of grave for Mr D based on the information she had received from the Council’s Bereavement Service. Mr D’s funeral was subsequently arranged by the Funeral Director and he was buried at the cemetery. A few days after the burial Mrs X visited Mr D’s grave and became aware the personalisation collar would not cover Mr D’s full grave when it was positioned. Mrs X also realised Mr D’s grave was directly side by side and back-to-back with other graves and the only approach was from one end.
16. Mrs X complained to the Council. Mrs X stated Mr D’s grave was not as described, nor pictured in the information provided by the Council’s Bereavement Service because;
• the full personalisation area did not cover Mr D’s grave leaving one third uncovered;
• it was back-to-back and side to side with other graves meaning it was not possible to walk around the grave; and
• it was not a single grave as depicted in the photograph on the leaflet.

Mrs X said if the Council had properly explained the layout to her, she would not have buried Mr D there. Mrs X further complained about the state of the cemetery after she had fallen in deep mud trying to tend Mr D’s grave, and the grave itself was covered in mud.

17. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint and stated:
• it used demonstration pictures in its literature as the use of actual graves would be insensitive;
• it assumed the funeral director would explain all options and the layout to Mrs X using the more detailed booklet;
• it was aware of the ground conditions and had plans to proceed with drainage improvement in the summer;
• the personalisation collar was not advertised as a grave cover but somewhere to place personal items; and
• it felt its literature provided adequate information on the graves available in the cemetery and it was readily available on its website and through funeral directors.
18. Mrs X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage 2 as she felt the Council had focussed on the position and layout of Mr D’s grave rather than her concerns about the information it provided to her.
19. The Council responded to Mrs X’s complaint by providing a copy of its original complaint response.
20. Dissatisfied with the Council’s response Mrs X complained to us.
21. The Council told us at the time of the events there were lockdown restrictions enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council stated the restrictions caused it to have an over reliance on funeral directors to provide information to families. The Council previously provided the full information to families when they attended the offices to register a death.

My findings

22. Mrs X spoke directly with the Council about the options for Mr D’s grave. The Council sent her a one-page leaflet that showed a photograph of a single grave with a one sentence description of double rows and a full personalisation collar. The Council did not provide Mrs X with the full booklet it referred to in its complaint response. The Council’s response to Mrs X stated it assumed a funeral director would provide her with further information about the grave types and cemetery layout. At the point it provided the information Mrs X had not engaged a funeral director. The Council had a responsibility to provide Mrs X with clear and full information to enable her to make an informed decision. It did not and that was fault.
23. The Council stated the personalisation area was not advertised as a grave cover, however the term ‘full personalisation area’ suggest the personalisation area will cover the full grave, regardless of its intended purpose. The one-page leaflet provided to Mrs X stated the personalisation area was six foot seven inches in length. It did not state a full grave was ten foot long, therefore Mrs X could not have known the collar would not cover the full grave. The Council stated it used demonstration photographs in its literature as it would be insensitive to use photographs of real graves. I am not persuaded by this argument as the full booklet uses a photograph of real graves to demonstrate graves with short personalisation areas.
24. The Council states its literature is adequate to enable members of the public and funeral directors to make informed choices. I have seen the brochures and disagree. The literature states the cemetery extension has been designed to provide additional room around the graves, yet Mr D's grave has no room around it. There is no information or pictures which make it clear graves are back-to-back and side by side. The only image in the one-page leaflet is a single grave on its own, and in the booklet, a single grave and two graves side by side. The literature is misleading and unclear which is fault. It meant Mrs X was unable to make an informed decision about the grave she purchased.
25. The faults meant Mrs X purchased a grave for Mr D which she would not have otherwise chosen and was not in line with Mr D’s wishes or Mrs X’s. Had the Council provided her with the detailed and correct information it is likely she would not have purchased it. This caused distress to Mrs X and her family.
26. The Council has a responsibility to maintain the cemetery grounds, keep them in a good state of repair and mitigate any health and safety risks. The Council confirmed it intends to complete groundworks to rectify the drainage problem causing the mud. Mrs X confirmed during this investigation the ground was no longer muddy. The Council has taken appropriate steps to mitigate risks caused by the drainage problem which is in line with relevant guidance. Therefore, it is not at fault.

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Agreed action

27. Within one month of this decision the Council will:
• apologise to Mrs X and pay her £150 to recognise the distress caused to her when the Council provided her with incomplete, misleading and unclear information about the grave she purchased for her father; and
• remind relevant staff to provide full information about graves to members of the public and not to assume they will consult a funeral director.
28. Within two months of the final decision the Council will:
• amend its literature to make it clear what grave plots will look like including position, spacing and covering; and
• provide copies of the amended literature to local funeral directors.
29. The Council will provide us with evidence it has carried out the agreed actions.

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Final decision

30. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault causing injustice and the Council has agreed to my recommendations to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman