A group of MPs have written to their local council urging it to reverse a decision to change crematorium fees, amid claims they are "cashing in on Covid".

Medway Council is understood to be streamlining services run from its crematorium in Robin Hood Lane, Blue Bell Hill.

Currently it charges £710 for a 50-minute service and £482.50 for a 20-minute slot. Both include 10 minutes of preparation time.

However, from March 1 all services will run for a maximum of 30 minutes plus 10 minutes prep, but the charge will remain £710.

But the move has faced a backlash from angry residents and has prompted the Town's MPs to call for the council to reconsider their decision.

Leading the charge is MP for Rochester and Strood, Kelly Tolhurst, who penned a letter to the council alongside fellow Medway MPs Rehman Chishti and Tracey Crouch, setting out their concerns.

"I have called on Medway Council to reconsider their decision to increase the cost of cremations in exchange for shorter service times," she said.

"I know that this is a very difficult time for constituents, especially those who have been financially impacted by Covid-19, and raising the prices at this moment is completely wrong and needs to be urgently reviewed before the changes are brought in from 1st March."

In her letter to Medway Council chief executive Neil Davies, she said it did not feel "morally right" to raise the price to an "exorbitant amount for such a short time period".

The Tory MP, who recently resigned as Housing Minister after "devastating" family news, added the costs were out of touch with the "mood of Medway residents" at this moment

"At a time when funeral services are sadly in great demand across Medway, we can understand the need to temporarily shorten services but we feel that the increased costs are unjustifiable..." she said.

"With the price changes taking effect from the 1st March 2021, we are concerned that local funeral directors will be completely overwhelmed with requests to lay the deceased to rest before the cost of cremations increases.

"Our funeral directors are already under huge pressures and this change will only add to the strain that the services are under right now.

"We are concerned that local funeral directors will be completely overwhelmed with requests to lay the deceased to rest before the cost of cremations increases."

"We would strongly urge you to think carefully about these plans and consider the objections that you have received from ourselves and concerned members of the public."

It comes after an undertaker in the Towns, spoke out against the changes yesterday.

The funeral worker, who did not wish to named, said they were disgusted at what they claimed to be plans to maintain the fees for "half the service".

"I expected the prices to be adjusted pro-rata," they said. "I just feel they are cashing in on Covid as there are a lot of people who need to use the crematorium, and lots are backed up, but that does not negate the fact they are putting the prices up."

They added: "I have got families now that are panicking and want to get in before the price hike."

But the council's assistant director of frontline services, Ruth Du-Lieu, said: “We have made the difficult decision to temporarily reduce our crematorium service times from March 1.

"The cost and length of service is in line with, and cheaper than, other crematoriums across Kent.

"It is just a temporary measure we're putting in place during the pandemic.

"Due to the number of coronavirus deaths, we have seen an increase in demand for cremations.

"By temporarily reducing service times, we will be able to offer more services each day so families will not have to wait as long to say goodbye to their loved ones at an already difficult time.”

In north Kent, Thames View in Shorne, Gravesend, charges £693.50 or £520 for a 30 minute service.

Dartford does not have its own crematorium but has links with Eltham in south London which charges £722 for 45 minutes or £681 for a 30 minute service.

In comparison, on the Isle of Sheppey, the Garden of England crematorium in Bobbing currently quotes £765 up until March 31 with 30 minute non-attended services costing £520.

Elsewhere, Canterbury's crematorium services at Barham charge £975 for a 40 minute slot or £700 for an early service at either 8.40am or 9.20am.

Fees are cheaper at Vinters Park in Maidstone where it costs £495 for a 30 minute slot, including ten minutes for entering or exiting the chapel, or £565 for a 45 minute service.

Thanet's fees, recorded up until 31 March of this year, quote a price of £666 for services before 10am or £885 after 10am.

At the Charing Crematorium in Ashford fees as of January 1 were £975 for a 45 minute slot or £700 for an early service fee.

And the Kent and Sussex Crematorium in Tunbridge Wells charges £670 for a 30 minute slot or £820 for a 45 minute slot.

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