Public health funerals

When we can arrange a funeral

Where we are told when people have died with no next of kin or where there may not be enough funds to carry out a funeral service, we may be asked to arrange the funeral.

It is our duty, under the Public Health Control of Disease Act 1984 section 46(i), to arrange a burial or a cremation for a person who has died within our area where no suitable funeral arrangements have been, or are being, made.

We are then entitled to recover the funeral costs from the estate of the deceased, in the form of a civil debt recoverable within three years.

In cases where there are assets that exceed the cost of the funeral, and where there are no other bills outstanding, any money left will go to the Estates Group within the Bona Vacantia (small receipts) Division of the Treasury Solicitor, in accordance with the rules set down by the Secretary of State.

We will not become involved if any funeral arrangements have already been made or the funeral has already taken place. The council will not part-fund a funeral or contribute to the cost of a funeral which has already been organised by someone else.

Public Health Funeral Referrals (2014 - Present)

Name of Deceased	Date of Death	Outcome	Next of Kin?	Referral to Treasury Solicitor
Andrzej Zielinski	13.12.2023	Cremation	Yes	No
Richard Eddy	02.12.2023	Buried	Yes	No
Melvyn Ashby	17.09.2023	Buried	Yes	No
John Salmon	31.08.2023	Referred to NOK	Yes	No
Terrance Bramley	14.08.2023	Cremation	Yes	No
Raymond Skinner	03.07.2023	Burial	Yes	No
Jeffrey Wattam	12.02.2023	Funeral plan in place	Yes	No
Tony Wilkins	31.01.2023	Burial	Yes	No
Alan Brown	19.02.2023	Burial	Yes	No
Guy Anthony Bacon	23.11.2022	Burial	Yes	No
Antony Ernest Irving	17.09.2022	Burial	Yes	No
George Gooding	09.05.2022	Cremation	Yes	No
Richard “Alan” Angwin	14.08.2022	Passed to Executors	No	NA
Donald Chalmers	08.05.2022	Passed to NOK	Yes	NA
Noel McGrath	23.01.2022	Burial	Yes	No
Keith Rooke	20.02.2022	Passed to NOK	Yes	No
Diane Caroline Shaddick	14.01.2022	Burial	Yes	No
Eve White	10.01.2022	Cremation	Yes	No
Boris Bujula	17.11.2021	Burial	Yes	No
Charles Gardner	17.09.2021	Referred	Yes	NA
Steven Monroe	16.03.2021	Burial	No	No
John Latham	25.02.2021	Burial	Yes	No
David Reed	22.02.2021	Funeral Plan in Place	No	No
Leslie Clements	27.12.2020	Burial	No	Yes
Rodger Garrick-Steele	10.12.2020	Passed to NOK	Yes	NA
Jennifer Alfreda Handscombe	03.08.2020	Burial	Yes	No
David William Baker	11.07.2020	Passed to NOK	Yes	NA
Michael Joseph Ohara	17.06.2020	Burial	Yes	No
Martin Brian Jones	13.05.2020	Burial	Yes	No
Basil Lestive Hannaway	14.04.2020	Burial	None known	Yes
Anthony Hayter	18.04.2020	Cremation	No	No
Lyllian Brown	01.04.2020	Cremation	Yes	No
Terrence Cassidy	06.04.2020	Burial	Yes	No
Brenda Agar	16.02.2020	Burial	Yes	No
Edward Keel	24.12.2019	Cremation	No	No
David Moist	15.09.2019	Burial	No	No
Sandra Elizabeth Wyatt	27.07.2019	Burial	Yes	No
Peter John Beaumont	11.07.2019	Burial	Yes	No
Kevin Laughton	19.05.2019	Burial	Yes	No
Christopher Taylor	19.07.2018	Burial	Yes	No
Laurence Edward Warburton	26.04.2019	Next of kin now arranging funeral	Yes	No
Ceiridwen Starshine Malins	11.04.2019	Burial	Yes	No
David John Geddes	05.04.2019	Burial	Yes	No
Colin Jenner	01.03.2019	Burial	Executor	No
David Glynn Johnn	26.02.2019	Burial	Yes	No
Marjorie Crocker	31.12.2018	Cremation	No	No
David Anthony Davis	25.12.2018	Burial	Yes	No
Paul Alfred Griffiths	20.09.2018	Burial	No	No
Andrew Thomas Barker	19.05.2018	Burial	Yes	No
Francis James Snook	30.07.2018	Burial	No	No
Marjorie Joan Rose	12.07.2018	Burial	Yes	No
Valerie Barry	02.07.2018	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
David Kimberley	20.04.2018	Burial	Yes	No
William John French	10.04.2018	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
David Julian Umney	12.03.2018	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Joyce Gwendoline Andrews	10.03.2018`	Burial	Yes	No
Warren Roy Hoskin	23.01.2018	Burial	Yes	No
Margaret Walker	18.01.2018	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Helen Wooldridge	02.01.2018	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Leonard James Parsons	08.01.2018	Burial	Yes	No
David Hogg	22.12.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Michael Rice	22.12.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Joyce L M Mitchell	22.12.2017	Burial	No	No
Patricia Cassidy	12.12.2017	Cremation	Yes	No
Karl Wills	06.12.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Roger William Bartlett	20.11.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Raymond Houghton	04.11.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Edward Clode	18.08.2017	Burial	No	No
Arthur Abram	30.07.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Brian Ford	29.06.2017	Burial	No	No
Terrence Williams	18.06.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Joan Harrison	17.06.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Hugh Frost	08.06.2017	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Walter Ernest Coaker	24.03.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Rodney John Pring Tucker	07.03.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Aubery Malcolm Dowdeswell	21.01.2017	Burial	Yes	No
Alan White	06.12.2016	Cremation	Executor	No
David Frank Knowles	05.12.2016	Burial	Yes	No
David Hogg	22.12.2016	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Derek James England	30.08.2016	Executor now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
William Edward McAuley	24.06.2016	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Wendy Jean Guest	26.06.2016	Executor now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Barbara Ellen May Geddes	12.04.2016	Burial	Yes	No
Peter Laurence Webber	30.03.2016	Burial	Yes	No
Vanessa Tornack	14.03.2016	Family friend dealing with funeral	No	No
Dennis Benjamin Hughes	02.01.2016	Burial	Yes	No
Martin Trevor Payne	19.11.2015	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Harry Hatch	05.10.2015	Burial	No	Yes
Ronald Faulkner	1.09.2015	Burial	Yes	No
Norma Pilkenton	10.08.2015	Next of Kin now dealing with	Yes	No
Jean Lochhead	26.07.2015	Burial	Yes	No
Geoffrey Balnaves	28.04.2015	Executor now dealing with	Executor	No
Derek Mills	17.02.2015	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Barbara Schneider	06.01.2015	Cremation	Yes	No
Elizabeth Rose	05.01.2015	Cremation	Yes	No
Catherine Davies	03.01.2015	Burial	Yes	No
Charles Edward Gray	25.12.2014	Family friend now dealing with Funeral	No	Yes
Lysette Disler	05.12.2014	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Simon John Barrs	07.11.2014	Burial	Yes	No
Tanya Caroline Little	20.11.2014	Next of Kin now dealing with funeral	Yes	No
Shaun Anthony Maloney	22.04.2014	Cremation	No	No
John Fulford	26.04.2014	Cremation	No	No
Bernard Vincent Kilroy	30.03.2014	Burial	Yes	No
Edith Gallagher	01.04.2014	Burial	No	Yes

When we will not get involved

We will not undertake funeral arrangements if the deceased died in hospital or in an ambulance on the way to hospital. Under these circumstances the hospital authorities will take responsibility.

We will not normally undertake funeral arrangements if the next of kin were in receipt of benefits, as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will pay.

Getting help to pay for a funeral

Visit gov.uk or call 0800 731 0469.

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