FOI Request Cost of Public Health Funerals
Request 101001517945
1. How many public health funerals were carried out in the financial year 2011/12?
2. What was the cost of an individual public health funeral in 2011/12, separately for a) burials and b) cremations
3. What was the total cost of public health funerals for the Local Authority in 2011/12?
4. How many public health funerals were carried out in the financial year 2015/16?
5. What was the cost of an individual public health funeral in 2015/16, separately for a) burials and b) cremations;
6. What was the total cost of public health funerals for the Local Authority in 2015/16?.
Response 06-06-2017
- No funerals were arranged in the financial year 2011-12 by the Environmental Health Section in terms of Section 50 of the National Assistance Act 1948.
- The cost for a burial would have been around £1200.00 in the financial year 2011-12, inclusive of the costs of opening the lair, the undertaker's fees and our own staff costs. Funerals were arranged through a funeral undertaker who was awarded a three year contract, following a tendering process carried out in accordance with the relevant procurement requirements. Cremations are only arranged when the deceased person has a will which indicates this preference and also when sufficient funds are available in their estate. No cremations were arranged in that financial year or in preceding years and therefore it is not possible to provide details of the cost of a cremation.
- The total cost in financial year 2011-12 was nil.
- Three funerals were arranged in financial year 2015-16.
- The average cost for a burial would have been around £1600.00 in the financial year 2015-16. The average cost of a cremation would be around £1900.00. (please also refer to the answer given in 2.)
- The total costs of funerals in financial year 2015-16 was £7966.30 and after the recovery of costs from the deceased persons’ estates, the net cost was £436.76.