More people in England being buried or cremated by councils, survey finds

Local Government Association says cost to taxpayer for last-resort ceremonies has climbed to 6m a year

A rising number of people are being buried or cremated by councils in England because they have no one to organise or pay for a funeral, a survey of town halls has found.

There was a 13% rise in a year in the number of public health funerals" in the 2022-23 financial year, the Local Government Association (LGA) estimated, as costs to the taxpayer for the last-resort ceremonies rose to almost 6m a year.