10 ways councils are making budgets go further
Discover 10 ways councils are stretching budgets further, from digital transformation and energy efficiency to community partnerships and data-driven decision-making.
Council abandons controversial cemetery charges
15/08/2025 A council's plans to implement a higher fee for wider burial plots have been retracted following public objections. |
Man charged in funeral home fraud case
03/04/2025 A 47-year-old man has been charged by Humberside Police in connection with a fraud case at a Yorkshire funeral home. |
LGA: Councils need sustainable funding to deliver funerals
23/09/2024 Sustainable funding and long-term certainty are needed so local authorities can meet rising demand for public health funerals (PHFs), council bosses say. |
Councils to create memorial after funeral home incident
05/08/2024 Two councils have committed to creating a permanent memorial for those affected by an incident involving a funeral company in Yorkshire. |
Three arrested in connection with crematorium scandal
30/07/2024 Three people have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and fraud by false representation in an investigation into the disposal of ashes. |
Police meet families about ashes found at funeral home
01/07/2024 Police and council officers have met with families who were identified in relation to ashes found during an investigation at a funeral home in Hull. |
Bodies removed from funeral home in fraud case
11/03/2024 Police have removed 34 bodies from the premises of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Yorkshire over concerns about the care of the deceased. |
Councils forced to ban funeral services due to coranavirus
06/04/2020 Three West Yorkshire Councils have been forced to suspend all new funeral services due to the coronavirus pandemic. |
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Mass graves a possibility as councils struggle to cope with number of deaths
30/03/2020 Burial and cremation services could be overwhelmed within weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak, academics have warned. |
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Councils paying for more than 4,000 public funerals a year
08/01/2020 Councils are spending more than £6m a year on paying for public funerals, according to new research. |
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Council crematorium holds service with wrong body
16/12/2019 Coventry City Council has launched an investigation after a funeral service took place at a council-run crematorium with the wrong body. |
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Councils welcome increase in funeral expenses payments
06/11/2019 Councils leaders hope the increase in funeral expenses payments will help lower the number of public health funerals. |
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New fund to cover costs of children’s funerals
01/07/2019 Grieving families will no longer have to pay for their child’s burial or cremation under a new government scheme in England. |
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‘Pauper’s funerals’ cost councils £5.4m last year
09/01/2019 Local authorities spent nearly £5.4m on public health funerals in 2017/18, new research has revealed. |
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Burial fees for children are scrapped in England
03/04/2018 The prime minister has announced the launch of a fund to help parents who have lost a child meet the costs of the funeral. |
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Councils spend £4m on 'pauper's funerals' in 2015/16
17/01/2018 Local authorities spent £4m on public health funerals in 2015/16 - an increase of 36% over the past five years - new research has revealed. |
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Child burials fees to be scrapped in Wales
24/11/2017 Councils in Wales are to receive up to £1.5m in order to scrap burial and cremation fees for children. |
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Funeral debt at ‘all-time high’, research reveals
31/08/2017 Funeral debt has increased to an all-time high as funeral costs increase, research reveals. |
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New benefit launched in Scotland to cover cost of funerals
09/08/2017 A 10-point plan to help people struggling with funeral costs has been launched by Scotland's equalities secretary Angela Constance. |
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Bereaved families call for independent inquiry into baby ashes scandal
27/07/2017 Staff at Hull City Council failed to provide ashes for up to 57 families whose babies had been cremated, an internal investigation has concluded. |
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Paying for ‘paupers’ funerals’ in hard times
11/01/2017 William Eichler finds out why an heir hunting company is now offering councils help to cover the cost of paupers' funerals. |
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Labour: Autumn statement should include £10m for child funerals
24/10/2016 The Labour Party has asked the chancellor to allocate £10m in his Autumn Statement to help parents pay for the costs of child funerals. |
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Council chief releases report into baby ashes scandal
17/08/2016 The chief executive of Aberdeen City Council has vowed to implement a ‘culture change’ of management in the wake of the baby ashes scandal. |
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Council chief apologises after baby ashes report
29/06/2016 The chief executive of Aberdeen City Council has apologised unreservedly after a report heavily criticised how babies were cremated at local facilities. |
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Councils facing soaring cost of 'paupers' funerals'
30/11/2015 The cost to councils of a rising number of 'paupers' funerals' has shot up almost 30% in the past four years and now stands at a total of £1.7m, according to new research. |
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Bereaved face ‘postcode lottery’ over funeral costs
05/10/2015 Funeral costs have risen by 3.9% in the past year, with new analysis showing bereaved people are facing a ‘postcode lottery’ over fees. |
