Section 46 of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984(1) places an obligation upon the local authority to arrange the burial or cremation of a person who has died or been found dead in its area if it appears that there are no relatives or friends willing to make suitable arrangements.

This does not apply to anyone who dies in hospital or in an ambulance on the way to hospital, as such responsibility lies with the relevant NHS Trust.

The Coroner will normally notify the council when a death has occurred and there is no known agency/persons making suitable arrangements for the disposal of the body.

The council will endeavour to make reasonable efforts to contact the deceased’s next of kin and friends, but it will not normally place notices in the press or engage an agency.

The relevant undertaker carrying out the public health funeral (or friends) may choose to make their own independent arrangements (for example, place a notice in the newspaper or take steps to publicise a notice on their own website) if they wish.

An officer from Environmental Health Section will normally register the death and visit the home of the deceased in order to search the property for details of family members (for example, address books), a will and any financial information to assist in recovering of the costs of the funeral.

If family members are found, the council would normally expect that they take over the necessary arrangements and/or pay for the funeral. Similarly, if a will is found, the executor will be responsible for arranging the funeral.

The council may notify the individual’s Landlord, their bank and the Benefits Agency of the person’s death and will aim to recover some or all of the costs of the funeral from the deceased individual’s assets, such as money found at the home of the deceased, money in the deceased’s bank account(s), insurance policies, funeral plans or from the sale of goods found at the property.

In such instances, no items of value should be removed from the deceased’s home until the Council has conducted its search. If an individual removes items of value from the deceased’s home (for example, cars that are not on finance) the council may seek to recover some or all of the funeral expense from that individual.

The council will seek 3 quotations from funeral directors in the vicinity of the deceased’s last residence on the island.

The council will not be responsible for any cost incurred by a funeral director prior to their formal appointment. In exceptional circumstances, where the deceased is in the care of a funeral director prior to its involvement, the council may (at its discretion) seek a quotation from this and another two funeral directors, with an appointment being based on best value.

Where this is different, arrangements must be made to for release the body to the appointed funeral director.

Where the deceased lived in rented accommodation, once the council has satisfied itself that there are no items of value the landlord should take responsibility for clearing the premises at their cost.

Similarly, if they lived in a care/nursing home, the home is accountable for the disposal of the effects.

If assets remain once funeral costs have been paid the council will notify the Treasury Solicitor’s Department 

The council is entitled to recover the costs of the funeral from the estate of the deceased, in the form of a civil debt within three years.

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Personal information, such as the:

• full names of the deceased
• date of birth of the deceased
• date of death of the deceased
• date of Funeral of the deceased
• last known address of the deceased

is exempt under Section 41(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, as it was provided to us in confidence by individuals and is, therefore, withheld. Furthermore, it has been confirmed by the Information Tribunal that the duty of confidentiality continues after the death of an individual to whom that duty is owed.

The Treasury Solicitor’s Department administers the estates of individuals who have passed away without any relatives, or a Will.

The Treasury Solicitor’s Department publish estates valued at over £5000.