Municipal Funerals

What Help is Available?

Assistance With Funeral Arrangements

If it appears to the Council that no suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body have been, or are likely to be made, then it is the Council's duty to bury or cremate the body of any person who has died or been found dead in its area. Where a person has died whilst being an in patient at a hospital, then the responsibility for the funeral arrangements lies with the Health Authority.

The Council may seek to recover expenses incurred in connection with the burial/cremation of the deceased. This would be taken from the estate of the deceased. The Council has no powers to accept responsibility after private funeral arrangements have been made.

Other Help Available

If the next of kin or their partner is in receipt of one of the following then they may be entitled to a Funeral Payment from the Social Fund:

• Income Support
• Income-based Job Seekers Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Housing Benefit
• Council Tax Benefit
• Working Tax Credit which includes a disability or severe disability element
• Child Tax Credit at a rate higher than the family element.

For further information and to receive a copy of the claim form SF200 please contact your local DSS office or the Department for Work and Pensions.