Public Health Funerals

Sources of financial help

Making the funeral arrangements for a deceased relative or friend is not as daunting as some people may think.

Relatives or friends sometimes find some comfort in having an involvement in making the funeral arrangements.

In some cases, family members or friends want to make the funeral arrangements themselves for a deceased relative or friend but do not have the financial resources to do so themselves.

This section aims to provide you with some useful information to allow you to make the funeral arrangements yourself and in turn afford you or family members greater control, involvement and input in making the funeral arrangements than if Islington Council were to make them. 

Many funeral directors have a ‘simple’ or ‘basic’ funeral package which will include all the essential features of a funeral but at a lower price than other options. A discussion with a funeral director will examine the options available to you.

In some cases families choose to share the cost of a relative’s funeral with other friends or relatives so that they can make the arrangements themselves.

There are also a number of sources of assistance that can assist them in doing to, details of some of these agencies can be found below:

• This link provides information on guidance on the process you will need to follow from the point someone passes away through to dealing with any estate  What to do after someone dies - GOV.UK
• The Department for Work and Pensions offers funeral support for those on low incomes.
• Down to Earth is a charitable organisation that can offer advice and assistance to those having difficulty arranging or paying for a funeral.

Islington Council     

Islington Council are responsible for making funeral arrangements for anybody who dies within their borough if:

• no funeral arrangements have yet been made;
• no relatives of the deceased can be found; or
• the relatives of the deceased cannot or will not arrange a funeral.

This responsibility is placed on the council by Section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. Section 46 of the Act also states that the council may recover all their costs incurred in making the funeral arrangements from the estate of the deceased (i.e. their property and possessions).

If the person in question died outside of the council boundary, the funeral arrangements will be the responsibility of the local authority where they died, even if they had lived within the London Borough of Islington.

Public Health funeral referrals can come from a number of sources including Her Majesty’s Coroner, GP’s, care homes, social workers or family members themselves.

If funeral arrangements have already been made, or the funeral has already taken place, the Council will not be able to get involved. We cannot provide any funding for funeral arrangements to families, whether the funeral has taken place or not.

Once the council has accepted a case, we will assume responsibility for making the funeral arrangements and deal with all aspects of the organisation of a funeral, including registering the death if this as not taken place, dealing with the funeral directors to make the arrangements, and paying for the funeral.

It is important to note that in allowing Islington Council to make the funeral arrangement both family and close friends are relinquishing responsibility for, and therefore control of, the funeral to the local authority. 

A cremation service will normally be held, unless it is established that the deceased would have chosen burial for religious, cultural or personal reasons.

If a burial is required and the deceased did not previously own a grave, a burial will take place in an unmarked grave.

The council’s contracted funeral directors will provide everything necessary for a simple but dignified and respectful service, including a coffin, transport of the deceased to the crematorium or cemetery, and sufficient bearers to transfer the coffin to the chapel.

A public health funeral will not provide transport to the funeral for any mourners.

The funeral director may also be able to arrange for a minister of religion or a representative of the faith of the deceased to lead the service, subject to their availability. If a non-religious service is appropriate, a civil funeral celebrant will be used.

Making a referral

If you wish to explore the potential for the council assuming responsibility for making the funeral arrangements for a deceased family member or friend you can do so by emailing:

clientaffairs@islington.gov.uk

A member of the team will then contact you to discuss the case and obtain the information needed to proceed with the funeral arrangements.

It is important that you have not enlisted the services of a funeral director at the point of contacting the council.

Any costs incurred prior to the teams involvement cannot be borne by the council.

As stated above, if the funeral arrangements have already been made or the funeral has already taken place then the team will not be able to assist further in the case.

Timescales

The Client Affairs and Asset Management team will seek to progress making the funeral arrangements as quickly as possible, however this is subject to a number of factors including:

• The Coroner’s Office, where applicable, having released the deceased for burial or cremation.
• Availability of registrars to register the death.
• Funeral Directors availability.
• Progress made to locate friends or Next of kin of the deceased.

In most cases, it is reasonable to expect funeral arrangements to take place within two weeks of the team receiving a referral, however we will keep any known Next of Kin or friends up to date on the funeral arrangements.

Next of Kin

In some cases we will receive a referral for a Public Health funeral and have no next of kin information available to us. In these cases, we will refer the case to a genealogist company to attempt to trace the deceased’s next of kin.

This is to not only inform any next of kin of the deceased’s death and to obtain information on the deceased’s wishes but so that we can also keep them updated on when and where the funeral will take place.

If information is known to us of any friends of the deceased then we will contact them to establish if they were aware of the deceased’s wishes and to keep them informed of any funeral arrangements.

Executors of a will

The council will not be able to make funeral arrangements in cases where it is known or it is established that the deceased left a will and the executor has been traced; in these circumstances the executor would be expected to organise the funeral.

If the executor wishes to revoke their duties, they must make a formal renunciation of the will and declare that they wish to have no further involvement in the funeral arrangements.

Attendance of family and friends

Family and friends are welcome and encouraged to attend the funeral service, but will have no choice as to where and when it is held.

By requesting Islington Council to assume responsibility for making all funeral arrangement you are relinquishing responsibility and control of the funeral.

Islington Council will notify you in advance on the time and place that the funeral will take place.

To observers, however, the public health funeral will appear no different to a simple ceremony that has not been arranged by the council.

Ashes

Following a cremation, and where no next of kin is known the cremated remains will normally be interred in an unmarked but recorded location in the gardens of remembrance at the crematorium.

Where a next of kin is known and they wish to receive the ashes the cremated remains may be released into the care of a close family member or friend. There is no fee payable for the release of cremated remains.

Death in a hospital

If the deceased died as an in-patient within the Whittington Hospital and there are no relatives, the NHS Trust may assume responsibility for the funeral arrangements and recover their expenses from the deceased’s estate.

Further information on Whittington Hospital funeral arrangements policy can be obtained by contacting Lisa John on 020 7288 5696.

Recovery of funeral costs

Section 46 of the Act also states that the council may recover all their costs incurred in making the funeral arrangements from the estate of the deceased (i.e. their property and possessions).

When making funeral arrangements the council will also make enquiries, where possible, to establish if the deceased had an estate from which the council’s reasonable funeral expenses can be recovered from. In some cases this may involve undertaking a search of their last known residence to obtain information on any estate or assets the deceased may have had.

The council considers reasonable expenses to be:

• the cost of the funeral including burial/cremation fees;
• time spent registering a death and arranging a funeral;
• general administration costs;
• funeral director fees.

If an estate exists then the costs of the funeral will be recovered.

If no estate exists then the cost of the funeral will be borne by the council.

Alternative sources of support

Further sources of support including emotional support and bereavement counselling can be found by clicking on the link below:

https://www.islington.gov.uk/social-care-and-health/coronavirus-covid-19/need-help/bereavement


Client Finance and Asset Management team:

7 Newington Barrow Way

London

N7 7EP

clientaffairs@islington.gov.uk

Opening times

Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm