Firm fined £100k over cemetery contract failures

A firm that provides cemetery and bereavement services has been fined more than £100,000 by Rotherham Council after it failed to meet a number of performance targets.

Dignity Funerals Ltd was issued with £107,580 in financial penalties during 2024/25, according to a report presented to a council meeting.

The penalties relate to issues with planned maintenance and delays to the expansion of burial space, rather than the conduct of funerals or care for bereaved families.

Kim Phillips MBE, business manager for Dignity, told the meeting: "I believe Dignity and the council have worked effectively to support the Rotherham community for bereavement services."

The report shows Dignity did not fully meet targets linked to the condition of paths and footways at several cemeteries, drainage and water run-off issues, and progress on planned maintenance works.

There were also 36 complaints recorded during the year, 29 of them were upheld according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. No major health and safety breaches or service failures were recorded.

Council officers told councillors the penalties form part of routine contract management and are intended to drive improvement.

Dignity said it is investing between £1.5m and £2m in improvements across Rotherham's cemeteries and crematorium, including replacement cremators, chapel refurbishment and further burial space expansion.

The report said that while immediate health and safety risks were addressed, longer-term repairs, particularly at Moorgate, Masbrough and Wath cemeteries were delayed.

The council has also pressed the company to bring forward plans to improve Muslim burial provision.

Initial expansion work at East Herringthorpe Cemetery is nearing completion, with further phases planned to increase capacity in response to demand, the meeting heard.

Despite the penalties, the report noted that customer-facing services remained good.

Nearly all funerals and cremations were delivered within agreed timescales, and feedback from families and funeral directors was described as overwhelmingly positive.

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