For the report we surveyed 102 council websites across the UK, analysing any information provided about council funerals and assessing its findability. Volunteers also made phone calls to 54 councils, taking on the role of the friend of a bereaved person who needed a council funeral. Our findings suggest that more than half of councils in England and Wales are not fully following Government guidelines on council funerals (sometimes known as public health funerals). This report seeks to identify if anything has changed since our 2021 report, or if the problems we found are more widespread. It offers a unique insight into what it is like for a member of the public trying to get information and help, and shows that a compassionate, simple and equitable process is far from guaranteed in some parts of the country.
Download the full report here [PDF file]
Click on this link to read the Executive Summary and recommendations.
We have produced some guides to make it easier for local authorities to provide information about their council funeral policy on their websites.
To see the website information guide for local authorities in England and Wales, please click here.
To see the website information guide for local authorities in Northern Ireland, please click here.
To see the website information guide for local authorities in Scotland, please click here.
Our past research
An abdication of duty? Local authorities and access to public health funerals (2021)
Post expires on September 16th, 2024
