Our Ref: FOI 03296 RC 0089 AW

Our Ref: FOI 03321

Date: 2nd May 2013

Dear Mr Ogden

Thank you for your request for information which falls under the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 received on 23rd April 2013 asking about public health funerals:

Your Request asked for:

I am undertaking a study on the numbers of Public Health/Welfare Funerals undertaken by LA's in the UK. I would appreciate it if you would provide answers to the following FOI request.

1. The total number of public health funerals (where the deceased

has no relatives or there is no one else willing to pay) that your

LA has undertaken for the financial years 2010/11, 2011/12,

2012/13?

2. The number of public health funerals that your LA has

undertaken by gender for the past 3 financial years?

3. The number of public health funerals that your LA has

undertaken by age for the past 3 financial years?

Since April 2010, how many cases have there been where family and

friends refuse to finance or make arrangements for their relatives

funeral?

4. How much have the burials/cremations cost the LA broken down

by year for the last three financial years? This cost information

does not need to include administrative or staff costs, and before

any costs are claimed back by the local authority from the

deceased’s estate

5. How much does your trust typically (average cost) pay for a

Public Health Funeral?

6. What does your LA provide at a Public Health Funeral?

7. What relationship do you have with your local NHS Trust

regarding funerals of this nature?

8. Have you observed any of the following over the last three

years?

• Higher numbers or people dying without any income or assets

• Higher numbers of people dying with family or friends unable to

contribute to the costs of a funeral

• Higher numbers of people dying with family or friends unwilling

to contribute to the costs of a funeral

• Higher numbers of people dying with no friends or family

We have considered your request for information, received on 8th April 2013 relating to the number and details of funerals arranged under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 since 2010.

Please find below the number of funerals that were carried under the provision of the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 for the dates specified in your request together with the age and gender.

Public Health Funerals gender and age

Financial year 2010/11

Total 22

Financial year 2011/12

Total 19

Financial year 2012/13

Total 18

Since 2010 there have been 28 cases where there were relatives and 31 cases where there were no known next of kin at the time of the death.

The cost per financial year of arranging funerals under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) is as follows:

2010/11 = £20,7952011/12 = £18,3542012/13 = £21,955

The average cost of a funeral arranged under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984 is approximately £1035.00

Bereavement Services in Cardiff provide a dignified funeral of either a cremation or burial. A contracted Funeral Director will collect the deceased, provide a coffin and hearse. For cremation, a service is held at the crematorium chapel with a Minister, if faith is known appropriate ‘faith’ minister is arranged. The remains are usually scattered in our Garden of Remembrance. For a burial a simple grave side service is arranged with a minister in attendance and the grave is marked with a wooden cross bearing the name of deceased and grave number. Any family or friends are informed of the date and time of the funeral. Should any information be available at the time of making the arrangement with regards to the deceased’s wishes then consideration will be given to this, in particular if there is evidence that the deceased has assets.

One local hospital, the University of Wales, will arrange the funeral of anyone that dies in hospital where there are no known next of kin.

In answer to question 8 of your request we do not always know the full circumstances or reasons why family or friends are unable or unwilling to arrange the funeral; therefore I am unable to provide you with any precise data on this. However, from observation it is more often than not, claimed to be due to ‘estrangement’ or that they are a distant relative such as a cousin who has had no contact with the deceased for many years. If a relative claims an inability to pay then we will inform them of options available to them such as referring them to the DWP to see if they qualify for financial assistance or provide them with information regarding a lower cost ‘fixed’ price funeral service provided by a local funeral director in conjunction with Cardiff County Council.

If this information does not answer your enquiry or if you feel we have not fully understood your request, or complied with the requirements of the Regulations, you also have the right to ask for an independent review of our response. If you wish to ask for a review please set out in writing your reasons and send to the Operational Manager, Improvement & Information, whose address is available at the bottom of this letter.
You also have the right, under Regulation 18 and section 50 of the Freedom of Information Act to apply to the Information Commissioner for a decision whether, in any specified respect, your request for information has been dealt with in accordance with the requirements of the Regulations. The Commissioner will however normally require you to ask for an internal review before considering such an application.

Yours Sincerely

Information & Improvement Team

Gwella a Gwybodaeth

Room 356 County Hall. Cardiff. CF10 4UW

TEL : 029 2087 2087

Email :

The Operational Manager, Improvement and Information, Cardiff Council, Room 356, County Hall, CARDIFF, CF10 - 4UW. Telephone: 02920 87 2087 Email:

You can find out more about the Act from the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner's Office (Wales), 2nd Floor, Churchill House, Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2HH. http://www.ico.gov.uk, Telephone: 029 2044 8400, Fax: 029 2044 8045, Email: