A year on from our Down to Earth team’s landmark research on council funerals, we look at the important progress it has driven, and why government still needs to introduce minimum standards.
‘We were being passed from pillar to post. People kept giving me different numbers and I was going round in circles - I wanted to give up… At this point Kevin had been in the mortuary for four or five weeks. It was looking more and more disrespectful that he hadn’t had a funeral yet.’
– Samantha, Down to Earth client
Local councils have a legal duty to carry out a burial or cremation for someone who died in their area when no other arrangements are being made. We refer to these as ‘council funerals’.
However, last year research by Down to Earth revealed that council funeral practices and access to help vary hugely across the country – with experiences like Samantha’s happening far too often.
We are pleased to share that many councils have taken action as a result of our research, for which we were also named Advising Londoners Awards finalists. There is still a long way to go until good practice is achieved across the country, but many councils have already made big improvements in the way that they communicate about council funerals. Some have changed their practices.
Read the full research report: A patchwork of provision
How councils deliver funerals matters
A bereaved person who is unable to make funeral arrangements, for instance because they have no way of paying for them, should be able to contact someone at the council who can advise them.
And when someone is dying and has no family or friends to arrange their funeral, they should be able to find out from their local council what will happen to them after they die.
Reaching out to a council for help in these situations can demand courage and involve a host of complex emotions. The process needs to follow the law and be rooted in simplicity and compassion.
Yet despite the progress from many councils – nearly 18 months after our research, this is not always guaranteed.
Councils offer a ‘patchwork of provision’ on funerals
Our research in 2024 focused on two things:
- The information about council funerals on local authority websites and whether this was easy to find, accurate and sensitive.
- The experience of contacting local authorities via phone about arranging a council funeral.
We reviewed 102 websites and called 54 councils in total.
The results were extremely mixed.
Our team and volunteers uncovered a postcode lottery, in terms of both council funeral practice itself, and transparent communication about the process.
We found that many local authority websites offered very little information about council funerals – and some provided none at all. Our research volunteers also experienced many phone conversations with councils that lacked in care and understanding.
‘I was surprised how differently the “right person” behaved when I reached them. Some were ever so nice, sympathetic, and explained things clearly and with language that was respectful and comforting. … But other people treated it just like a process, without the humanity, and no expression of sympathy - I could have been arranging to get my car serviced.’
– Volunteer phone researcher
What would good practice look like?
In our report, we outlined 10 recommendations for local authorities. Among the things we are calling on all local authorities to do, are:
- To carry out their legal duties around providing either a burial or cremation according to the preference of the deceased person, where this is known.
- To follow government guidance where it exists.
- To enable next of kin to receive the ashes, in the case of cremation.
- To provide a webpage for the public with contact details, an accurate explanation of the local authority’s legal duties around council funerals, and a description of what is provided as part of the burial/cremation.
Councils have made improvements since our research.
Since our research was published, we have been delighted to see many councils improving their provision.
It is worth noting that, while councils are legally required to provide a burial or cremation in certain circumstances, there are no statutory minimum standards around how they do this. The UK and devolved Governments have the power to establish these – which we believe would be the single biggest step towards consistent good practice.
For now, our advocacy has resulted in over 1 in 4 councils making changes to their online information.*
This includes 14 councils that have created a dedicated council funeral information page, when they previously had no or very limited information online. We’re pleased to say that some of the new pages, like Wirral Council’s, are very good (though sadly some others are very poor – lack of consistency remains a big issue).
Twelve of these new pages contain contact details, and another four councils have added a phone number and/or email address to their existing pages.
Other information on existing webpages has also improved, such as including accurate descriptions of councils’ legal duties. Some councils have added a dedicated 'council funeral' option to their automated phone menus.
We know that these changes will make a big difference to anyone trying to get in touch with these councils for help.
In one local authority, staff received refresher training to prevent burials being automatically refused. At Down to Earth we know how distressing it can be for surviving family when the deceased person’s burial wishes are denied. It is also against the law.
‘[My client] Jordan said the council officer had told her, “If you want a burial, you will need to raise the funds [of almost £1,000] for the plot. A burial can only be on religious grounds, or if there is a will.” It caused Jordan significant stress to think that a cremation would take place in direct contrast to her mother’s wishes.’
– Down to Earth caseworker
We want to see more change – and many councils want to make it.
As Co-Manager of Down to Earth, I have spent a lot of time in the past two years engaging with local authorities around council funerals. This has shown me that many councils recognise the importance of the changes that we are calling for. I have also seen just how much councils want to do their best by their residents, both those who have died and their family and friends.
There is hope that more changes are to come. As I write this, another three councils are very close to putting information online (one has shared a draft with us), and three more have shown interest in doing so. However, in several cases a lack of capacity, both in departments that deal with council funerals and those that manage council websites, has been a barrier to following through.
It goes to show that, to help both councils and bereaved people, local authorities must be sufficiently funded.
'To help both councils and bereaved people, local authorities must be sufficiently funded.'
At Down to Earth we will keep advocating for change, until people who are unable to arrange a funeral can easily access the support and information they need from the council – regardless of where they live.
Down to Earth
QSA’s Down To Earth is the only charity-run UK-wide service for people struggling with funeral costs.
Down to Earth were Advising Londoners Awards 2025 finalists in the category, ‘Best use of evidence in advice work to achieve positive change’, in recognition of their research and advocacy on council funerals.
*We have not reviewed all 102 council websites from our original sample for progress, so there is a good chance this figure may be higher.
Samantha’s quote is taken from Down to Earth’s 2021 report on council funerals, ‘An Abdication of Duty?’.
Photo credits:
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