Public Health Funerals

Public health funerals

Under Section 46 of the 1984 Public Health Act, if somebody dies, and it appears that no suitable arrangements have been made, we have a responsibility to make sure they receive a proper burial.

This usually happens when someone dies with no known blood relatives or has relatives that do not want to or who are unable to be involved. Where possible, the costs of this are recovered from the estate of the deceased.

Frequently asked questions

Public health funerals are the subject of frequent freedom of information requests, and the answers to the most commonly asked questions are as follows:

we do not use solicitors, probate specialists or genealogical companies to trace relatives
we do not have a contract with a designated funeral director
placing notices in newspapers would be arranged by the funeral director
none of these funerals have required a formal notification to the Duchy of Lancaster
none of these funerals have resulted in notification to the Land Registry, as none of the estates have included land or property
due to the infrequent nature of these funerals no individual officer is designated for dealing with these matters

Public health funerals we have carried out

Since January 2010, we have carried out the following Public Health Funerals:

Name: Stuart Wylde
Date and place of birth: 5.6.86 Davyhulme,
Date and place of death: 27.02.23 St Catherine's Hospice Lostock Hall
Relatives Traced? Yes
Value of estate: approx. £200
Cost of funeral: £2,141

Name: Frank Simpson
Date and place of birth: 19.9.35 Preston,
Date and place of death: 31.03.22 Walton House Nursing
Relatives Traced? Yes
Value of estate: approx. £7000
Cost of funeral: £3,000

Name: Keith David Richardson
Date and place of birth: 19.01.1948, Withington, Manchester
Date and place of death: 24.09.2020, Bamber Bridge
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £49,739.31
Cost of funeral: £1,295

Name: Barrie Knowles
Date and place of birth: 19.12.1944, Preston
Date and place of death: 09.10.2020, Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £1,600

Name: Margaret Cunningham
Date and place of birth: 02.12.1934
Date and place of death: 25.04.2020 New Longton
Relatives traced? No
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £1,295

Name: Robert Turner
Date and place of birth: 31.05.1968 Leyland
Date and place of death: 11.04.2020 Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £1,295

Name: Anne Kalendar
Date and place of birth: 05.02.1946 Preston
Date and place of death: 14.08.2019 Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? No
Value of estate: Not determined
Cost of funeral: £1,453.52

Name: Raiz Ahmad
Date and place of birth: 15.09.1951 Pakistan
Date and place of death: 21.05.2019 Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? No
Value of estate: Not determined
Cost of funeral: £1,553.32

Name: Marjorie Rigby
Date and place of birth: 14.03.1925 Liverpool
Date and place of death: 21.01.2018 Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £2.29
Cost of funeral: £1,400

Name: Thomas Carter
Date and place of birth: 18.11.1937 Preston
Date and place of death: 06.09.2017 Penwortham
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £500
Cost of funeral: £1,680

Name: Joseph Ball
Date and place of birth: 03.02.1951 Doncaster
Date and place of death: 23.05.2017 Leyland
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: >£1,750
Cost of funeral: £1,750

Name: James E. Mannion
Date and place of birth: 11.02.1940 Preston
Date and place of death: 12.04.2017 Lostock Hall
Relatives traced? No
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £1,400

Name: Leslie Kiss
Date and place of birth: 17.04.1965 Preston
Date and place of death: 2.04.2013 Penwortham
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £620

Name: Aurelija Brazaityte
Date and place of birth: 12.3.1966 Vilnius, Lithuania
Date and place of death: 7.2.2013 Bamber Bridge
Relatives traced? No
Value of estate: £849
Cost of funeral: £1,119

Name: Guy Blackburn
Date and place of birth: Not recorded
Date and place of death: Funeral - 28.07.2011
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £0
Cost of funeral: £527.49

Name: David Michael Jermy
Date and place of birth: 29.04.1942 Attleborough, Norfolk
Date and place of death: 21.04.2010 Penwortham
Relatives traced? Yes
Value of estate: £298.36
Cost of funeral: £851.89