Issue - meetings
Public Health Funeral Policy
Meeting: 09/10/2024 - Executive (Item 243)
243 Public Health Funeral Policy 
PDF 74 KB
Purpose:
To consider and approve a new policy in respect of Public Health Funerals.
Recommendation:
That the Executive resolves to:
- Approve the Public Health Funeral Policy, attached at Annex A.
Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Leader, Councillor Andy Graham on behalf of Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment, introduced the report, which sought Executive to consider and approve a new policy in respect of Public Health Funerals.
The report explained that the council did not currently have an adopted Public Health Funerals policy. This could possibly leave the Council open to legal challenge from interested parties if it takes on a very basic funeral arrangement and the family wants something more tailored.
The Council needed to ensure it has an adopted policy to provide both a basis for a procedural framework for staff and further provide a consistent and transparent approach to the public on how it deals with such cases.
The provisions of section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 states: “It shall be the duty of a local authority to cause to be buried or cremated the body of any person who has died or has been found dead in their area, in any case where it appears to the authority that no suitable arrangements for disposal of the body have been or are being made otherwise than by the authority”.
The purpose of section 46 was to prevent the spread of disease through the proper disposal of bodies of deceased individuals where no-one else is willing or able to take responsibly for the funeral arrangements. In many cases the lack of suitable arrangement was due to there being no known next of kin. These cases were generally referred to the Council by the coroner’s office but on other occasions family members were traced who were unable or unwilling to take responsibility for arranging the funeral.
In some circumstances a successful application to the Social Fund would help meet the cost of paying for the funeral including arrangement fee costs. Where this could not be achieved the Council had an obligation to make and pay for the necessary arrangements. The Council undertook on average four to six public health funerals per year at a current cost of approximately £1,650 per funeral. These costs, however, could be offset through the removal and sale of possessions from the deceased’s estate.
Councillor Andy Graham proposed that the Executive agree the recommendations as listed on the original report. This was seconded by Councillor Duncan Enright, was put to a vote, and was unanimously agreed by the Executive.
The Executive Resolved to:
1. Approve the Public Health Funeral Policy, attached at Annex A.