What is a public health funeral?
When a person dies within the borough of Hillingdon and there is no known next of kin, relatives or friends willing, or able, to arrange the funeral, the council is required, under Section 46, Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act 1984, to register the death and arrange a funeral. This is called a public health funeral (formerly known as a pauper’s funeral).
Important:
- Where a person has died outside of Hillingdon, the funeral arrangements will be the responsibility of the local authority where the person died. This applies even if they lived in Hillingdon.
- Where a funeral is already booked or has taken place, we are unable to become involved.
Contracted funeral service
We use a contracted funeral service (Sherry & Sons). Anyone instructing funeral directors other than our contracted supplier will be directly responsible for any costs incurred. We will not cover these costs.
Get in touch
If you anticipate that Hillingdon Council will need to take responsibility for the arrangement and funeral of a deceased person within Hillingdon, please contact our Client Financial Affairs team to discuss (contact details below).