Sharp rise in country of those dying in poverty

COUNCILS in Staffordshire carried out nearly 30 ‘paupers’ funerals last year for people who die in poverty or had no next of kin.

While the number of so-called paupers funerals jumped by a quarter in the UK, across Staffordshire the 25 carried out in 2020 was down from 32 in 2019.

Councils only carried out a small number of such funerals each, with numbers falling in East Staffordshire, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, and Stafford, remaining the same at three in Newcastle-under-lyme, and rising in Cannock Chase and Staffordshire Moorlands.

They are officially known as “public health funerals” and take place often without flowers, sometimes without even a service and the person may be laid to rest in unmarked or “common” graves shared with others.

The oldest whose funeral was arranged in South Staffordshire, was 91 while the youngest, in Lichfield, was 56. The costs may be repaid when next of kin are found, or claimed back from the deceased’s estate.

Councils that provided details had spent £21,423 on arranging funerals in 2020, although some of those costs may have been later reclaimed. Nationally, there was a 26% rise in these events during the year the worst pandemic in a century gripped Britain.

Using the Freedom of Information Act, data from 362 out of 371 councils across Britain showed there were 5,875 paupers funerals last year.

London was hard hit, with a 46% increase between 2019 and 2020, while Birmingham City Council had the highest number – 507 in 2020 (up 25%).

The chances of dying from Covid-19 were nearly four times higher for adults of working age in England’s poorest areas than in the wealthiest places, an inquiry into the health impacts of the pandemic by the Health Foundation has found.

Among the youngest paupers’ funeral in 2020 was for “Baby Ruja” who died the day she was born in Doncaster last September and was cremated four months later.

Christina Martin, from Wealden council, organised and attended 11 public health funerals in 2020, up from four the previous year.

She said: “It feels like it is becoming more common. I have had a couple of Covid funerals. But it seems to be more about the aging population and not always having the traditional family set up.”