There is a clear revival in interest in cemeteries coming through from the report of the Government Select Committee that has been investigating them, although the report says the lack of information about cemeteries is a hindrance it wants corrected with some research.

The Committee report says evidence was received from more than 120 organisations and individuals, testament in itself to the immense value set on cemeteries by our society.

However, it adds: Throughout our enquiry it was apparent that a lack of information is presenting a substantial obstacle to the development of public policy on cemeteries. We do not even know how many burial authorities there are, still less how many cemeteries.

The Committee welcomed a commitment by the Home Office to commission this year research to collect some basic information.

The report does not include anything about the selling of memorials directly to the public by burial authorities, something the National Association of Memorial Masons (NAMM) has vigorously opposed, creating a fighting fund for masons to call upon to oppose the practice. All local authorities challenged by NAMM have stopped selling directly to the public.

The Memorial Awareness Board\'s submission to the Select Committee had also argued against cemeteries selling direct saying it would reduce the choices available to the bereaved.

The Institute of Burial & Cremation Administration\'s submission turned the memorial industry\'s arguments back on memorial masons. The Institute did not mention memorials specifically, but said that restricting the services burial authorities could offer was limiting the choices available to the bereaved.

The Committee accepted that space for burials was a diminishing resource and that an impending burial crisis has neither been averted nor anticipated.

The report continues: And yet cemeteries have a potential lifeline in that they are designed to generate income via fees and burial charges.

The future for these places, which form a significant piece of our national heritage as well as providing an essential service to local communities, need not be as gloomy, or reliant on subsidies, as it is for services which have no inherent potential for generating income.

The Committee heard evidence that more cremation could provide a solution to a shortage of burial space. It did not agree. It seems likely that there will always be a significant minority who will wish to be buried. To pressure the bereaved into considering cremation instead of burial would be to deny them the choice to which we believe they are entitled.

The Committee said burial space should be local, accessible and properly maintained and managed. And they liked the idea of woodland burials, although they said: There is an increasing public desire for greater memorialisation of the dead which cemeteries, properly maintained and managed, can play an essential role in fulfilling.