A TOTAL of 26 people across South Cumbria and Copeland have had so-called paupers’ funerals in the past four years – at a cost of more than £30,000 to local councils.

The funerals are carried out when a person dies without relatives, or the family is unable to pay. A simple service is followed by cremation or burial in an unmarked grave.

In a Freedom of Information request, the Evening Mail asked local authorities how many paupers’ funerals they arranged between 2012/13 and so far in 2015/16 – and how much they cost.

Between them, Barrow Borough Council, South Lakeland District Council and Copeland Borough Council handled 26 funerals at a cost of £30,597.

The youngest person to have a pauper’s funeral across the three boroughs was just 35.

How many in Barrow?

In Barrow, there have been seven since 2012, costing £5,179. The council paid that full amount, saying the NHS only pays for the funeral when the person has died in hospital. Barrow Council has only carried out burials – no cremations; all following a simple service at Thorncliffe Crematorium. There have been three so far in 2015/16, for people aged 52, 76 and 42, costing £2,375.

Why is there a difference in cost?

Overall, the most expensive was £1,407, while three cost nothing at all. When asked why there are such discrepancies between the prices, a local authority spokesman said: “Sometimes there are funds available in the deceased’s estate to pay for some of the funeral, but not always all of it.”

How many were there in South Lakeland and Ulverston?

In South Lakeland, there have been six paupers’ funerals since 2012, at a cost of £7,720 to SLDC. 

Four of them were from Ulverston, with one described as a “non-resident from the hospice”. 

They were aged 78, 35, 75 and 86. Two were buried and two were cremated. The dearest was £1,650 and the cheapest was £1,100.

How many were there in Copeland?

In Copeland, there have been 13 since 2012 – costing £17,698, but none were in Millom. The council paid that full amount. Most came in 2014/15 (five) and there have been three so far in 2015/16. All involved cremations.

The cheapest was £796 and the most expensive was £1,781.

What does the council say?

Chris Pollard, Barrow Council’s cemetery and crematorium manager, said there was no designated location in the cemetery for paupers’ unmarked graves, but rather they were buried in the “regular” places where all other residents were laid to rest.

He said: “Any that are arranged are done so by our environmental health department and through a local funeral director.

“It is usually a burial in a single grave, but we do only get two or three a year at the moment.

“Years ago, they would bury paupers in a grave for three or four.

“But what we do now is put them in single graves, because we have had instances afterwards where family have come forward and they wish to put a headstone on – so if there is only that one person in the grave, they can do that.”

Given the circumstances, it is easy to picture the funerals being attended by no-one. But Mr Pollard said that is not strictly the case. He said: “Sometimes we find that there are friends who come and there can be up to 20 or 30 people there sometimes, depending on how well known they were.

“Usually the funeral director will arrange for a minister to come and take a service.”

What is the situation nationally?

Figures nationally show the North West has the greatest number of public health funerals. However, Mr Pollard said: “Years ago, and we’re talking in excess of 50 years, there were an awful lot of paupers’ funerals, because people just couldn’t afford to buy a grave.

“There are less now, certainly around Barrow, but whether that trend will increase or decrease, I wouldn’t know at the moment.”

<u> Barrow  is cheapest in region to die </u>

BARROW is the cheapest place to die in the North West, figures showed.

The research by Royal London – the UK’s largest mutual life, pension and investment company – revealed the cost of an average, basic funeral in the North West is £3,651.

The study said that, with the other costs taken into account, a cremation in Barrow would cost £3,350 and a burial would cost £3,390.

For people living in Copeland, an average funeral would cost £3,810 for a burial or £3,406 for a cremation.

South Lakeland does not have a crematorium and was not featured in the study.

However Simon Cox, a funeral cost expert at Royal London, said paying funeral costs can be difficult for families as costs are rising above inflation.  

He said: “The rising cost of an average UK funeral is very concerning; it’s outstripped inflation considerably for many years –almost in line with house price rises, which as we know continue to rise rapidly as demand outstrips supply."

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