Freedom Funerals

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Freedom Funerals's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Freedom Funerals is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles

www.freedomfunerals.co.uk

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

20 | FREEDOM FUNERALS

Director Lee Jaschok next to the

Queen’s coach

Lee and the team with one

of their motorcycles

Freedom Funerals is an independent family-run funeral director

covering North Essex and Suffolk, established in 2004. After

seeing many people overcharged for funerals, Director Lee

Jaschok and his son, William, decided to make a stand against

a lack of transparency within the industry by providing funeral

services at affordable prices without compromising on quality

and professionalism. Lee tells

The Parliamentary Review

that

his calming manner and understanding demeanour also gave

him a platform to start helping his local community open up

about the subject of death – allowing him to support those who

experience grief, both now and into the future.

Funeral directors are traditionally not renowned for thinking outside the box,

but at Freedom Funerals we are happy to be challenging perceptions. As an

independent family-run business, looking after people at their lowest ebb is our

heartfelt vocation. The funeral industry remains stuck in its ways – many businesses

are run now as they were decades ago, and that’s why we’ve made it our goal to

revolutionise how funeral directors are viewed by the general public. We believe

that everyone should have the right to have a funeral of their choice, regardless of

their budget and how their life was led.

Choosing the funeral you want

Whatever direction a life takes, the final journey should reflect the loves and joys

experienced over the course of a lifetime. That’s why we’ve given people the

chance to share their wishes with us to make sure family and friends are relieved of

FACTS ABOUT

FREEDOM FUNERALS

»Director: Lee Jaschok

»Established in 2004

»Based in Colchester, Essex

»Services: Independent funeral

director

»Freedom Funerals also

employs Lee’s son, William

»www.freedomfunerals.co.uk

Freedom Funerals

21FREEDOM FUNERALS |

CIVIL SOCIETY

the stresses of designing a funeral – a

funeral that should be a celebration

of all the things their loved one spent

time doing. No desired service should

be out of reach, regardless of budget,

and we work to deliver the perfect

funeral at the best price.

By providing a special place to share

funeral wishes, we enable customers

to lighten the load of their passing

by arranging the finer details of their

service. We all want to be remembered

in a certain way, and we offer a

recordable way to discuss requirements

for the funeral without any strain on

family or friends.

We offer a huge range of options for

all areas of the service – when it comes

to transportation, for instance, we can

provide anything from campervans and

motorcycle with sidecars to a variety

of other specialist vehicles. There is no

service that we can’t provide to give

anyone the ultimate send-off.

Affordability and transparency

Not a month goes by without

the rising costs of funerals hitting

headlines; huge financial pressures are

piled on grieving families at the most

traumatic time possible. Increasing

costs have an effect on everyone, but

the lack of transparency within the

industry enables hidden costs to catch

out those who are more vulnerable.

Everyone should be able to afford the

funeral they want, and we have made

it our aim to keep costs down and help

everyone get exactly the service they

want without breaking the bank.

When someone close to you passes

away, most people think you need

to have an elaborate send-off with

all the bells and whistles; in reality,

however, you can pick and choose

when it comes to most of the usual

elements. Items that people consider

prerequisites, such as orders of service,

expensive vehicles and floral tributes,

are far from obligatory.

It’s for this reason that we also offer

advice on more affordable options,

like a green burial, which negate some

of the expenses associated with plot

charges and other costs. This honest

approach has earned the trust of

our clients and helped us to develop

longstanding relationships thereafter.

Lee next to the grave of

Victoria Cross recipient

Edmund Fowler. Lee

and his team undertook

the refurbishment of

Fowler’s grave as it was

in poor condition

Funeral directors

are traditionally

not renowned

for thinking

outside the box,

but at Freedom

Funerals we are

happy to be

challenging

perceptions

“

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2019

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

20 | FREEDOM FUNERALS

Director Lee Jaschok next to the

Queen’s coach

Lee and the team with one

of their motorcycles

Freedom Funerals is an independent family-run funeral director

covering North Essex and Suffolk, established in 2004. After

seeing many people overcharged for funerals, Director Lee

Jaschok and his son, William, decided to make a stand against

a lack of transparency within the industry by providing funeral

services at affordable prices without compromising on quality

and professionalism. Lee tells

The Parliamentary Review

that

his calming manner and understanding demeanour also gave

him a platform to start helping his local community open up

about the subject of death – allowing him to support those who

experience grief, both now and into the future.

Funeral directors are traditionally not renowned for thinking outside the box,

but at Freedom Funerals we are happy to be challenging perceptions. As an

independent family-run business, looking after people at their lowest ebb is our

heartfelt vocation. The funeral industry remains stuck in its ways – many businesses

are run now as they were decades ago, and that’s why we’ve made it our goal to

revolutionise how funeral directors are viewed by the general public. We believe

that everyone should have the right to have a funeral of their choice, regardless of

their budget and how their life was led.

Choosing the funeral you want

Whatever direction a life takes, the final journey should reflect the loves and joys

experienced over the course of a lifetime. That’s why we’ve given people the

chance to share their wishes with us to make sure family and friends are relieved of

FACTS ABOUT

FREEDOM FUNERALS

»Director: Lee Jaschok

»Established in 2004

»Based in Colchester, Essex

»Services: Independent funeral

director

»Freedom Funerals also

employs Lee’s son, William

»www.freedomfunerals.co.uk

Freedom Funerals

21FREEDOM FUNERALS |

CIVIL SOCIETY

the stresses of designing a funeral – a

funeral that should be a celebration

of all the things their loved one spent

time doing. No desired service should

be out of reach, regardless of budget,

and we work to deliver the perfect

funeral at the best price.

By providing a special place to share

funeral wishes, we enable customers

to lighten the load of their passing

by arranging the finer details of their

service. We all want to be remembered

in a certain way, and we offer a

recordable way to discuss requirements

for the funeral without any strain on

family or friends.

We offer a huge range of options for

all areas of the service – when it comes

to transportation, for instance, we can

provide anything from campervans and

motorcycle with sidecars to a variety

of other specialist vehicles. There is no

service that we can’t provide to give

anyone the ultimate send-off.

Affordability and transparency

Not a month goes by without

the rising costs of funerals hitting

headlines; huge financial pressures are

piled on grieving families at the most

traumatic time possible. Increasing

costs have an effect on everyone, but

the lack of transparency within the

industry enables hidden costs to catch

out those who are more vulnerable.

Everyone should be able to afford the

funeral they want, and we have made

it our aim to keep costs down and help

everyone get exactly the service they

want without breaking the bank.

When someone close to you passes

away, most people think you need

to have an elaborate send-off with

all the bells and whistles; in reality,

however, you can pick and choose

when it comes to most of the usual

elements. Items that people consider

prerequisites, such as orders of service,

expensive vehicles and floral tributes,

are far from obligatory.

It’s for this reason that we also offer

advice on more affordable options,

like a green burial, which negate some

of the expenses associated with plot

charges and other costs. This honest

approach has earned the trust of

our clients and helped us to develop

longstanding relationships thereafter.

Lee next to the grave of

Victoria Cross recipient

Edmund Fowler. Lee

and his team undertook

the refurbishment of

Fowler’s grave as it was

in poor condition

Funeral directors

are traditionally

not renowned

for thinking

outside the box,

but at Freedom

Funerals we are

happy to be

challenging

perceptions

“

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

22 | FREEDOM FUNERALS

Inability to pay and assisted

burials

A lot of people that come to us just

don’t have the money to pay for a

funeral. The industry as a whole is

somewhat skewed; everybody wants

payment for every individual aspect

upfront, and between the cost of a

vicar, a cremation and the various

other elements involved, it comes to a

rough minimum of £1,000.

When you’re living with nothing,

however, the minimum figure doesn’t

matter – finding £1,000 is just not an

option. If you can’t afford it at all, then

the council will eventually conduct an

assisted burial, but they do absolutely

everything to avoid that as an option

and try then to recoup all costs from

the estate of the deceased.

There just doesn’t seem to be a viable

option for those who can’t afford to

bury their loved ones – at least not one

that doesn’t come up against some

resistance. Sometimes applications for

a grant from the Department for Work

and Pensions are successful, but even

then, they only pay a portion rather

than covering the full amount. It only

leads to further debt and misery at an

already-difficult time in one’s life; the

government really should outline and

formulate a strategy for the people

who can’t afford a funeral.

Environmental legislation –

remaining green is expensive

We are members of the Association

of Green Funeral Directors and we

carry out a significant number of

green burials every year, but remaining

sustainable is only getting more

difficult and more expensive.

Take into account the Ultra-Low

Emission Zone in London, for example,

and the requirement for businesses to

use Euro 6-compliant vehicles. That’s

fine when it comes to vans and lorries,

but finding a classic hearse – a very

unique vehicle – with the right engine

is nearly impossible and a significant

further expense.

We also don’t need Euro 6 vehicles

where we’re situated in Colchester –

but when we have to go into London

just to bring people back to the

cemetery, this becomes an issue. We’re

a small business, one that doesn’t have

the capacity to deal with big pieces

of legislation like this, and it really

seems pointless for us to have to buy

compliant vehicles we’ll barely use.

Changing how people think

about funerals

The other trade bodies out there for

the sector aren’t really helping to drive

things forwards. When magazines

come out showing pallbearers in

morning suits, it just shows that

nothing’s changed. I firmly believe our

attitude towards death and funerals

as a national and global community

needs to change.

People know that you’ll need a hearse

and a coffin – we don’t advertise that.

For us, funerals are about celebrating

life, not mourning the death of a loved

one. We want to get our name out

there and get people talking about

death in a completely different light.

We have made

it our aim to

keep costs

down and

help everyone

get exactly the

service they

want without

breaking the

bank

“

Lee’s son, William (far

left) with the team

23ANGUS COUNCIL |

CIVIL SOCIETY

CEO Margo Williamson

and Council Leader David

Fairweather

Angus aerial shot

Angus, with its population of approximately 110,000, is

located in the east of Scotland and sits between the cities

of Aberdeen and Dundee. It is bounded by the North

Sea to the east and the Cairngorms National Park to the west.

Angus Council, one of its main champions, says that its thriving

community, good infrastructure and beautiful scenery combine

to make it a wonderful place in which to live and work, as

well as to visit. Angus Council’s CEO, Margo Williamson, tells

TheParliamentary Review

more.

A welcoming place for all

Angus has seven towns, with Forfar being the administrative centre for the area,

and contained within it is a broad base of industry, including manufacturing

and agriculture. Arbroath is the largest town in Angus and has a rich heritage of

manufacturing, retail and, more recently, service businesses. Montrose, with its

port and easy access to Aberdeen, is a thriving town, with the commercial activity

centred on the energy sectors. Brechin, Carnoustie, Kirriemuir and Monifieth are

busy towns with both national and local companies.

A number of local, national and international companies have also made their home

in Angus, including GlaxoSmithKline, Don & Low, Baker Hughes, GE Company, and

AG Barr.

Visiting Angus

Angus is an area of outstanding beauty, with unspoilt beaches, rolling hills and

glens, championship golf courses, attractive towns and villages and a fascinating

FACTS ABOUT

ANGUS COUNCIL

»CEO: Margo Williamson

»Council Leader: David

Fairweather

»Services: Unitary authority,

responsible for local authority

public services and schools

»No. of employees: 5,000

»Margo Williamson is the first

female CEO in Angus since it

was established

»The county of Angus is

approximately 842square

miles

»www.angus.gov.uk

»www.businessangus.com

Angus Council

www.freedomfunerals.co.uk

This article was sponsored by Freedom Funerals. The Parliamentary Review is wholly funded by the representatives who write for it. The publication in which this article originally appeared contained the following foreword from Rt Hon Michael Gove.

Rt Hon Michael Gove's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By Rt Hon Michael Gove

This year's Parliamentary Review comes at a momentous time for parliament, as we collectively determine the destiny of the United Kingdom.

On October 31, the UK will leave the European Union. The successful implementation of this process is this government's number-one priority.

Three years after a historic referendum vote, we will deliver on the decisive mandate from the British people. Trust in our democracy depends on it. Until that final hour, we will work determinedly and diligently to negotiate a deal, one that abolishes the backstop and upholds the warm and close relationship we share with our friends, allies and neighbours in the EU. But in the event that the EU refuses to meet us at the table, we must be prepared to leave without a deal.

As the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, it is my job to lead on this government's approach, should that scenario happen. Preparing for Brexit is my department's driving mission. But while I am leading this turbocharged effort, the whole of government is committed to this endeavour.

Ministers across Whitehall are working together to ensure that every possibility is considered, every plan is scrutinised and every provision is made. A daily drumbeat of meetings means that we are holding departments accountable, so that preparations are completed on time.

The chancellor has confirmed that all necessary funding will be made available. And we have mobilised thecivil service, assigning 15,000 of our most talented civil servants to manage our exit from the EU.

We will make sure that on November 1, there is as little disruption to national life as possible. Our trade relationships will continue to thrive, thanks to agreements with countries around the world worth £70 billion. Our country will remain secure, thanks to nearly 1,000 new officers posted at our borders. And the 3.2 million EU nationals now living and working among us can remain confident, with absolute certainty, of their right to remain in the UK.

Above all, our goal is to be transparent. Soon, we will launch a public information campaign so that citizens, communities and businesses are ready and reassured about what will happen in the event of “no deal”.

In my first few weeks in this role, I have travelled to ports and tarmacs, borders and bridges, all across the UK –from the seaside of Dover to the rolling green hills of County Armagh. I have heard from business owners and border officials, farmers and hauliers. They are ready to put an end to uncertainty. And they are ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.

Our departure from the EU will be a once in a lifetime chance to chart a new course for the United Kingdom. Preparing for that new course will be a herculean effort. But this country has made astounding efforts before. We can do it again.

Rt Hon Michael Gove
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster