‘Paupers’ funerals’ an increasing burden on public purse, figures say

Two Courier Country councils in top 10 for hosting ceremonies

Local authorities collectively spent around £4 million on “paupers’ funerals” in 2015/16, with Perth and Kinross and Fife Councils among those splashing out the most.

Royal London, which made the findings after analysing freedom of information (FOI) responses from across Britain, said the number of public health funerals has increased by 12% over the previous five years.

A public health funeral, also known as a pauper’s funeral, is held by a local authority when someone who has died has no family or the family is unable to cover the cost.

The insurer said FOI data from 260 local authorities showed there were 3,784 public health funerals across Britain in the financial year 2015-16. The total cost of these funerals amounted to £4m.

Fife Council held 82, at a cost of £73,254, while Perth and Kinross played host to 38, costing it £72,766.

Royal London said the total cost of the funerals to councils across the UK had increased by more than a third (36%) over the past five years.

Some 211 councils contacted provided data for the financial years 2011/12 and 2015/16.

Councils in the East of England saw the biggest percentage increase in public health funerals in the last five years, at nearly 36%, Royal London said.

It said those in the West Midlands faced the highest cost, with more than £900,000 being spent on these funerals in 2015/16.

Louise Eaton-Terry, a funeral cost expert at Royal London, said: “It is always upsetting when the deceased has no family to arrange a funeral, or when their family simply cannot afford one.

“In these cases, local councils take on the responsibility of paying for a funeral and it’s evident that councils are facing increasing pressure to accommodate the rising number of public health funerals in the UK.”

Figures show the number and cost of these funerals in 2015-16.

The insurer cautioned that the list is based only on those councils who provided it with data and that in some cases, the cost of a funeral may have been recovered by the council from the estate of the person who had died.

Councils are facing increasing pressure to accommodate the rising number of public health funerals