The lowest death rate since records began, economic contraction and now councils believe they have the right to sell memorials. But the good news is…

The death rate might have hit its lowest level since 1838 when records began, but people still die and the bereaved still like to commemorate the deceased in stone.

According to a report from the Office for National Statistics in October, the death rate in England and Wales in 2011 (the latest full year figures analysed) the age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs, in the jargon) were 6,236 deaths per million population for males and 4,458 for women.

Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own figures, but they show the same trend. The net result is that deaths in the UK have fallen from 630,000 in 1999 to 550,000 in 2011. That’s down 13%. By comparison, the birth rate has increased by about 7.5% (see the graph above) and the population of the UK has grown 6.7% to reach 62.4million in 2011.

Is it global warming? Is it healthier living? Is it the success of the health service? Whatever it is, it has taken its toll on the memorial masonry business – although anecdotally, at least, not quite as much of a toll as the figures threaten. And one thing is certain: a fall in the number of deaths in a growing population can only be temporary.

There are regional differences in death rates (the rates are higher in Wales and Scotland, for example) but any memorial mason, wholesale or retail, whose business is 13% down can generally attribute it to the fall in the number of deaths. If it is more or less than that, other factors are involved.

Many in the memorial industry say there has been a rise in cremations, which has resulted in fewer burials and it is burials that most often lead to the erection of a stone memorial.

The economy has probably taken its toll on the memorial masonry industry as well. Few industries are truly recession proof and although people will always die and the bodies of the dead must be disposed of, putting up a stone to commemorate a life is an option. Nevertheless, the proportion of people putting a memorial on a grave seems to have remained remarkably consistent over the years, as has the amount of money spent on memorials.

As memorials became cheaper in the 1990s with the dominance of imports from China and India, the bereaved in general simply bought more elaborate memorials rather than pocketing the savings.

Of course, there is no way of knowing whether or not there would have been a decline in the number of memorials bought if it had not been for the falling price (or added value), but it can be argued on the albeit anecdotal evidence that price is not the overarching factor in most cases when it comes to choosing a memorial stone.

Falling incomes might alter that, although the post-War baby boomers are relatively wealthy as a group and when they finally reach their alloted span, their families might well show their appreciation of their inheritances by spending a proportion of them on memorials to their benefactors.

The industry has watched the decline in deaths with some incredulity over the past decade, expecting a turnaround at any moment. It might even have already happened. The government produces weekly figures for the number of deaths in the UK and they seem to be on a upward trend. It is difficult to say with certainty because there are a lot of factors that can cause temporary blips in mortality rates. ’Flu has taken its toll during the appallingly long winter of 2012-13 and cold weather alone has an impact.

But if the death rate is picking up, there is yet another threat looming out of the mist for the beleaguered memorial mason. It comes from local authorities, one of which has started selling goods in competition with legitimate commercial businesses.

It is not the first time local authorities have tried to sell memorials directly to the public. The National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) was fighting the move as long ago as 1996. It raised a fighting fund in support of its members in Stoke on Trent to help them take legal action against the local authority, which had started selling plaques and vases to the public. In the event, the authority backed down.

NAMM engaged a barrister and eventually produced a ‘stance document’ stating NAMM’s legal objections to local authorities selling directly to the public. The document has been sent to any local authority that has started selling directly and in each case the authority had backed down. None has ever taken the issue to court, which indicates the strength of NAMM’s position.

Now, though, a new challenge has come from North East Lincolnshire Council, which seems less inclined to backtrack as it says the Localism Act, which came into force in 2011, gives it the right to sell memorials – or any other product.

Graeme Robertson of A&J Robertson (Granite) in Aberdeen, which has retail outlets across England and Scotland, says when one of its outlets in London faced competition from the local authority, sales slumped until the council stopped because wherever councils source their memorials, it has not been from local masons.

Phil Potts, the new Executive Officer of NAMM, says NAMM is talking to North East Lincolnshire Council. “We’re trying to help them by suggesting other ways they can make money by working together with stone masons,” Phil told NSS. “They could allow – and charge for – small kerb sets for cremated remains, for example.”

Phil joined NAMM as it was in the process of suspending another of its active members. He would like to bring some peace to this small industry and get it working with cemetery authorities and funeral directors for the benefit of all.

He attended the last Memorial Advisory Bureau (MAB) executive meeting and wants to work with it on marketing the industry generically. The MAB campaign was established by NAMM to promote stone memorialisation and is paid for by a voluntary levy of 1% on memorials supplied and collected by participating wholesalers. MAB would be delighted to have more NAMM members paying the levy.

Phil also wants to talk with BRAMM, the register of accredited memorial masons that NAMM established in order to help assure cremation and burial authorities that memorials would be fixed safely. Having established BRAMM, NAMM ended up in conflict with it and launched an alternative register. BRAMM is now chaired by Brian Morgan of Mossfords in Cardiff, for many years the Treasurer of NAMM. He says he was “kicked out [of NAMM] without the courtesy of an explanation”. However, he says: “I’m hopeful that NAMM and BRAMM can get back together.”

MAB, meanwhile, was meeting this month to discuss its latest programme. In the past few years a major plank of its campaign has been a photographic competition open to the public. It has been sponsored by Bridge Insurance, the memorial insurance company, which has enabled a first prize of £1,000 to be awarded. This year Bridge has withdrawn its support and the advertising agency that implements the MAB campaign (Mike Dewar’s One agency in London) is looking for an alternative backer.

MAB also attended the Who Do You Think You Are Live exhibition at Olympia, London, in February this year. The Show is for those interested in tracing their ancestors, who are more likely to buy memorial stones than the general public. It attracted 14,000 visitors and the MAB stand was kept permanently busy.

One has put a major effort into a new website for MAB, which it is hoped will now form the main thrust of the campaign. It includes a section to search for and find local memorial masons. So far entry on the list has been restricted to MAB levy payers, but MAB is considering a two-tier directory so non-levy payers can pay to be included.

The MAB Executive has just been joined by Chris Lodge of Lodge Bros in Middlesex, which is a funeral director as well as a memorial mason. Chris has taken the seat on the Executive of Peter Aspinall, who has retired. The Executive would like to develop the digital element of MAB and include a blog and perhaps tweets, although the time and effort required to maintain regular communication with limited resources is always going to be a problem.