BCP Bereavement Care

About Public Health Funerals

Section 46, of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 states; ''It shall be the duty of the local authority to cause to be buried or cremated the body of any person who has died or been found dead in their area, in any case where it appears to the authority that no suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body have been made or are being made otherwise than by the authority.'' 

This route should not be taken by families who can afford to make other, simple funeral arrangements but choose not to. It’s not a free alternative to a family’s moral responsibility to care for their own family members. The law does not require us to provide a funeral service. 

A public health funeral is always an unattended (direct) service.

Referring a Public Health Funeral  

A public health funeral should not be confused with getting financial assistance toward the cost of a funeral for a friend or relative. 

We receive referrals from: -

• Coroner’s Office
• Bournemouth, Poole & Christchurch Macmillan Hospitals
• Nursing Homes or Landlords
• Family or friends of the deceased.
• BCP Housing or Deputyship Team

Once a Public Health Funeral is referred to the team we will begin our investigations into the circumstances of the referral. This includes speaking to multi-agency parties, known family or friends and carrying out a search of the deceased's property. 

There no legal time frame under the Public Health Act that dictates when we should make the funeral arrangements. This is primarily based on the circumstances of each case and progression of our investigations and due diligence checks we must carry out. 

Authorising a Public Health Funeral

We will not proceed with the funeral arrangements in cases where there is a Will in place. The executor(s) of the Will are responsible for ensuring the deceased wishes are carried out and making the arrangements. 

In cases where a Public Health Funeral is authorised by the authority, we will:

• register the death of the deceased 
• complete the 'Tell us Once' service to report the death to both Government and Legal departments, including informing the deceased's bank of their death
• carry out a burial for the deceased in cases where this was their personal or religious request/requirement
• decide where a burial or cremation will take place
• decide the date and time of the direct cremation or direct to grave burial
• In cases of cremation, we will become the applicant for the cremation, in sole charge of the cremated remains
• recover all funeral costs from the estate of the deceased, where one exists, or, recover all funeral costs from next of kin where the authority sees fit

More information on the Public Health Act can be found here Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 

If you have any questions about Public Health Funerals, please email us.

Freedom of Information Requests

We are frequently asked for information about Public Health Funerals, people who have died with no known next of kin, bona vacantia estates and estates which have been referred to the Government Legal Department. In response to the requests we are releasing the following information about Public Health Funerals since January 2024.  

We update our case register, published below, every Wednesday. The information provided is in relation to Public Health Funerals authorised and carried out by BCP Council. 

In accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the dates of birth and last known addresses have been redacted or withheld under the following exemptions: 

Section 21 - Information accessible to applicant by other means 

Some details of the estate of those persons who have died have been passed on to the Government Legal Department and can be accessed via the Government Legal Department website or the Bona Vacantia website. 

Section 31 (1)(a) - Law Enforcement (prevention of detection of crime)

The release of personal details of a deceased individual with no known relatives may make the assets of the deceased of that person vulnerable. The disclosure of certain information may lead to the commission of offences, cause loss to the unsecured estates, and also lead to deceased identity fraud. 

Learn more about FOI requests.

The information published in the case register is released when lawfully appropriate to do so, not always at time of funeral arrangements being made. 

Register of Public Health Funerals 2024