MUNICIPAL crematoria and cemeteries in Glasgow could soon be run by private firms after record low usage and a shortfall in income of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

MUNICIPAL crematoria and cemeteries in Glasgow could soon be run by private firms after record low usage and a shortfall in income of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Since last April, the number of cremations in the city has dropped by more than 1000 - down by 25% on the recent average - while turnover from the service is £350,000 less than anticipated.

The council admits there has been a financial knock-on through unsold memorials, flowers, caskets and "associated ancillary products".

The shortage of funerals going through its books has prompted the city council to attempt to take on competition by allowing weekend burials and cremations.

Discussions have also taken place over the more critical action of forming a pact with the private sector.

However, Glasgow's problems, while bigger than most in the UK, are not unique.

According to the professional body for the management of graveyards and crematoria, partnerships - in which private firms manage and operate council-owned facilities - are increasingly seen by local authorities as the only way to maintain a meaningful role in the service.

In the UK, more than 70% of all funerals are now cremations, mainly because they are cheaper and quicker than the traditional burial.

With no profit in interment, firms such as Dignity Funerals have made strides to corner the crematoria market, opening facilities in Lanarkshire, Ayrshire and Dundee in the past decade and offering rates competing with council funerals.

In Glasgow, the annual average number of cremations is now 4500, down 1000 on the most recent five-year average. The council charges £311 to the bereaved of its citizens and £467 to non-residents.

According to Tim Morris, chief executive of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematoria Management, public sector funerals are increasingly the "Cinderella option".

Mr Morris, whose organisation represents the public and private sectors, said: "Just on the basis of the choice they offer, such as headstones and packages, private firms have a commercial advantage and offer very competitive rates.

"There are lots of pressures on local authorities whose cemeteries and crematoria are often under-funded, under-staffed and overstretched."