UK charter aims to improve rights for the dead

The Dead Citizens Charter, launched this week in the United Kingdom, warns that the average funeral in Britain is a “costly and miserable affair,” and calls for wide reforms of the £840m funeral industry to allow informed choice for those preparing for death.

The charter, published by the National Funerals College--an organisation set up in 1994 to improve funeral practices--and supported by Age Concern, expresses alarm over the cost of …