A Church of Scotland minister has warned of the 'scourge of funeral poverty' after a government department said on Thursday that it was considering launching a probe into soaring funeral costs.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had 'serious concerns' about the cost of funerals after a six-month review of the sector found above inflation price rises for both funeral director services and crematoria services.

According to the CMA, the cost of a funeral in Britain has risen by two-thirds in the last decade, with people now paying between £3,000 and £5,000.

'The scale of these price rises does not currently appear to be justified by cost increases or quality improvements,' the CMA said.

Rev Bryan Kerr, the Church of Scotland's representative on the Scottish Working Group on Funeral Poverty, welcomed the CMA report.

'No one should be plunged into debt to say goodbye to a loved one and given one of the largest increases in the cost of funerals have been local authority burial charges, we would urge the CMA to take this into account during its proposed market investigation,' he said.

'The Church of Scotland is committed to working with individuals and communities to ensure that funerals are carried out with dignity, no matter the economic situation of the family concerned, and the service of ministers is provided free of charge.'