The Government has cleared the way for further burials in an ancient Oxfordshire cemetery which church authorities claim is full.

St Michael's parish church at Cumnor has applied to the Home Office for the official closure of its 1,000-year-old graveyard.

The church claims that the graveyard has been full for 33 years and cannot be used to tackle a shortage of burial space in the village.

But in the House of Commons on May 26, Harriet Harman, constitutional affairs minister, said that officials would not be taking the church at its word, but studying all of the evidence available.

She said: "Whether a churchyard is full is a question of fact -- it's important for the officials in my Department to look closely at the evidence as to whether it is full so that the Secretary of State can make a decision.

"But nothing is going to happen that will take the community by surprise. The evidence will be made plain and a decision will be made on the evidence."

Her comments came during a debate led by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Evan Harris, who objected to the closure of the graveyard.

The Liberal Democrat supported the calls of Cumnor Parish Council, which claims that space remains available for further burials.

A consultation paper issued by the Government in January 2004 is considering the potential for "lift and deepen" -- whereby older graves are re-buried lower in the ground and new graves laid on top.

The Government is yet to decide whether to endorse this "re-use" of space to bury people as a policy to deal with a growing national shortage of burial space. Ms Harman sought to reassure Dr Harris that ministers were making progress on the issue of burial shortage.

Dr Harris said: "The parish council in my constituency has sought to find other burial grounds, but it has not been successful.

"I would argue it would be inappropriate if the Home Office agreed this closure while the Government is considering whether re-use is a possibility and when it hasn't been shown by the applicant, with evidence, that the graveyard is full."

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