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Zwickau (dpa / sn) - The Left have demanded uniform nationwide standards for social burials.
In the districts and urban districts there are different regulations, said the Bundestag member Sabine Zimmermann of the German press agency.
The corona pandemic also leads to a tense municipal financial situation.
“In view of the increasing financial burden on the municipalities, it is to be feared that the municipalities could lower the cost assumption.
In many regions, it would be necessary to increase services in order to also give poor people a dignified burial. "
Here the federal government must better support the municipalities so that they remain able to act.
“Many people cannot afford to have their loved ones buried.
Even after their death, the deceased are again branded as poor, due to the visibly poor burial and the modest grave equipment, ”said the politician from Zwickau, who heads the Bundestag committee on family, senior citizens, women and youth.
Due to increasing poverty in old age and precarious employment, an increase in social burials can be expected in the future.
According to Zimmermann, municipalities in Saxony had reimbursed around 2.35 million euros for the funeral of the poor in 2019.
The highest expenditure was incurred in the city of Leipzig at just under 1.1 million euros, and the lowest in the district of Meißen at around 32,000 euros.
The number of people who received funeral costs for their relatives from social welfare offices for lack of financial resources was 1143 (2018: 1065).
Information for 2020 is not yet available.
Zimmermann had requested the data from the State Statistical Office in Kamenz.
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The legal basis for the assumption of funeral costs is the Social Security Code XII.
However, it is not specified there which services belong to a social burial.
Literally it says: "The necessary costs of a funeral will be covered, as far as those obliged to do so cannot be expected to bear the costs."
As a rule, the obligated persons are relatives.
The assumption of costs is a benefit for surviving dependents and not for the deceased.
Income and assets are checked.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210124-99-147011 / 2