Public health funerals are funerals in the United Kingdom paid for by the local authority, where the relatives are either unwilling or unable to pay, or where no relatives can be found.

England and Wales

Public health funerals in England and Wales are governed by the

Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 is a piece of legislation for England and Wales which requires physicians to notify the 'proper officer' of the local authority of any person deemed to be suffering from a notifiable disease.Stephen ...

. Local authorities are obliged to arrange a funeral where no arrangements are being made or have been made. Local authorities are permitted to recover the costs of such funerals from the estate of the deceased under the Act. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' reported that the average cost of a public health funeral in 2011 was £950. In some circumstances where a person dies in hospital the relevant NHS trust may arrange a funeral for the deceased; however, ultimately the duty to arrange the funeral rests with the local authority.

Northern Ireland

Similar provisions to those in England and Wales exist in Northern Ireland under the Welfare Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1971. District councils are obligated to bury or cremate those who die in their area where no suitable provisions for disposal of the body have been made or are being made.

Scotland

In Scotland, a duty is imposed on local authorities under the

National Assistance Act 1948 The National Assistance Act 1948 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom by the Labour government of Clement Attlee. It formally abolished the Poor Law system that had existed since the reign of Elizabeth I, and established a social s ...

where the body of a person who has died or been found dead in their area and no suitable arrangements are being made for disposal of the body. A local authority may also arrange a burial or cremation for any person who was in the care of or receiving assistance (as well as children in local authority care) from the authority immediately prior to their death. In both cases, a local authority may seek to recover costs from the estate of the deceased. 549 funerals were undertaken in 2015 under the provisions above, costing local authorities approximately £500,000. These funerals are usually conducted by an undertaker contracted by the local authority to prepare the body and provide a basic funeral.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite act , title= Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 , type=Act , date= 26 June 1984 , article= 46 , article-type=Section , url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1984/22 , access-date= 22 September 2017 {{cite web, title=Funeral bills left are with councils by hard-up relatives, url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/12/funeral-costs-refused-by-relatives, website=The Guardian, accessdate=22 September 2017 {{cite web, title=When a Patient Dies - Advice on Developing Bereavement Services in the NHS, url=http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4122193.pdf, website=The National Archives, publisher=Department of Health, accessdate=22 September 2017, url-status=bot: unknown, archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130124071407/http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/@dh/@en/documents/digitalasset/dh_4122193.pdf, archivedate=24 January 2013 {{cite act , title= Welfare Services Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 , type=Act , date= 16 February 1971 , article= 25 , article-type=Section , url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1971/2/section/25 , access-date= 22 September 2017 {{cite act , title= National Assistance Act 1948 , type=Act , date= 13 May 1948 , article= 50 , article-type=Section , url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo6/11-12/29/section/50 , access-date= 19 September 2017 {{cite act , title= Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 , type=Act , date=26 July 1968, url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/49/section/28 , article= 28 , article-type=Section , access-date= 22 September 2017 {{cite web, title='Pauper funerals' cost councils £500,000 a year in Scotland, url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-37999757, website=BBC News, accessdate=22 September 2017 Citizens Advice Scotland, "Funeral Poverty in Scotland - A review for Scottish Government", 2016, Page 37 Death in the United Kingdom Welfare in the United Kingdom Social Fund (UK)