Public Health Funerals

The request was successful.

Freedom of information request
Good Afternoon, I would like make a freedom of information request the following information

1. Does your Council Publish a List of Public Health Funerals it has carried out?

2. How often is this late updated (Including the last time it was updated)?

3. Does the Council have any Public Health Funeral cases on record that are not presently published on the website?

4. If the answer to question 3 is Yes (either because there is no list or because the list is not up-to date), what are their details (including names, last known address, date of birth, date of death, date of funeral, and whether the case has been/ will be/ or even might be referred to the Treasury Solicitor?

5. Has the Council given any of this information away to another individual or organisation (either formally through an FOI request or informally through other communications?

6. Have you been approached by any research or probate firms for this information, if so which ones?

7. What is the name, email and telephone number of the individual(s) responsible for overseeing public health funerals within the Council?

8. What is the name, email and telephone number of the individual(s) responsible for overseeing Treasury Solicitor referrals within the Council?

Thank you so much for you help, I look forward to hearing back from you

Kind regards

Ben Hardie

Enquiries CED, Bournemouth Borough Council

If your enquiry is complex or relates to specific personal circumstances
it may take us up to 10 working days to provide the response.

If you are submitting a request for information under the Freedom of
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is formal acknowledgement that your request has been received by the
Council.  In most cases you will receive a response within 20 working
days.  If for any reason this is not possible you will be contacted and
advised accordingly.  

Meanwhile you may find the information you require on our website.
[1]www.bournemouth.gov.uk

Kind Regards,

Customer Service team

Bournemouth Borough Council

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/
http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/

Leigh Hayler, Bournemouth Borough Council

1 Attachment

 

Dear Mr Hardie,

 

Information Request – Freedom of Information Act

 

Thank you for your information request dated 02.04.15.

 

The Council holds some of the information you have requested.

 

1.         Does your Council Publish a List of Public Health Funerals it
has carried out? No

 

2.         How often is this late updated (Including the last time it was
updated)? N/A

 

3.         Does the Council have any Public Health Funeral cases on record
that are not presently  published on the website? N/A

 

4.         If the answer to question 3 is Yes (either because there is no
list or because the list is not up-to date), what are their details
(including names, last known address, date of birth, date of death, date
of funeral, and whether the case has been/ will be/ or even might be
referred to the Treasury Solicitor? See exemptions detailed below

 

5.         Has the Council given any of this information away to another
individual or organisation (either formally through an FOI request or
informally through other communications? No

 

6.         Have you been approached by any research or probate firms for
this information, if so which ones? We do have regular requests for the
type of information, which we answer with the exemptions below. The
Requestors most recently ppear to be private individuals

 

7.         What is the name, email and telephone number of the
individual(s) responsible for overseeing public health funerals within the
Council?  Sally Avis, [1][email address] 01202 526238

 

8.         What is the name, email and telephone number of the
individual(s) responsible for overseeing Treasury Solicitor referrals
within the Council? Sally Avis, [2][email address] 01202
526238

 

 

 

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Exemption | Details |
|-----------------------------------+------------------------------------|
|Section 21(1) – absolute exemption;|Information which is reasonably|
|not subject to the public interest|accessible to the applicant by other|
|test |means |
|-----------------------------------+------------------------------------|
|Section 22 (1) – qualified|Information is held with a view to|
|exemption; subject to the public|its publication, by the Council or|
|interest test |any other person, at some future|
| |date |
|-----------------------------------+------------------------------------|
|Section 31(1)(a) – qualified|Information is exempt if its|
|exemption; subject to the public|disclosure under the Act, would, or|
|interest test |would be likely to, prejudice the|
| |prevention or detection of crime |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

 

Section 21(1) – Absolute Exemption

 

Some of the information you have requested is available on the Treasury’s
website at: [3]http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/ .  The Treasury
publishes a full alphabetic list of all unclaimed deceased estates that
are valued at £5,000 or over.  Information is published by the Treasury
once its initial enquiries have been completed.  If you believe you may be
an entitled relative you are also able to undertake searches on the site,
provided you have some limited information about the related deceased
person, or persons.  

 

Section 22(1) – Qualified Exemption

 

Some of the information you have requested will be published to the
Treasury’s Bona Vacantia website, once its initial enquiries have been
completed.  The list is regularly updated and information is generally
available within a reasonable period of time following the death of an
individual who has died intestate, depending on the nature and extent of
the enquiries that the Treasury are required to undertake.

 

The Council is of the view that the Bona Vacantia website adequately
serves the public interest with regard to access to relevant information
about the unclaimed estates of deceased persons.  It makes such
information available in a timely and responsible manner.  The Council is
of the view that the disclosure of any information that it may hold in
advance of publication by the Treasury will not serve the public interest,
given that it may lead to the misuse of such information to the detriment
of surviving kin of the deceased persons.

 

Section 31(1)(a) – Qualified Exemption

When an estate is referred to the Treasury its normal practice is to
establish, through a series of enquiries, the value of the estate, whether
it is insolvent and whether it is indeed bona vacantia.  The Treasury
publishes information to the Bona Vacantia website after these enquiries
have been completed.  Revealing details of the assets of estates before
such steps have been taken provides an opportunity for criminal acts to be
committed, for example fraud or theft.  The last known address of the
deceased provides information about a potentially empty property, which
may be vulnerable to theft of the deceased’s personal documentation and
effects.  

The Treasury takes the issue of fraud against any assets very seriously. 
To this end and as part of its ongoing policy to combat fraud it changed
its position in December 2007 and values of estates are no longer
published on its website, or in its press advertisements.  The purpose of
advertising estates is to find as many entitled kin as possible, and
including the value of the estate does not assist that end, but instead
may put the estate assets at risk.  The Treasury website states that the
number of successful kin claims received has risen significantly since
2007.

The Council is of the view that the position adopted by the Treasury is
correct and, therefore, the information you have requested is subject to
exemption.  Disclosure of the information is likely to prejudice the
prevention of crime by enabling or encouraging the commission of
offences.  The public interest cannot be served by such activity and the
Council does not believe it is in the public interest to disclose the
information you have asked for.

If you are dissatisfied with this response you can ask for a review, which
will be dealt with through the Council’s complaints procedure. Details of
the complaints procedure can be found at:

[4]http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Residents/...

 

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of the Council’s review you have
the right to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Contact details for the Information Commissioner can be found at:
[5]www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

 

Yours sincerely

 

 

 

Leigh Hayler
Business Support Manager
Housing, Parks and Bereavement Services
T: 01202 458313 W: [email address]

[6]http://biz/PublishingImages/Bournemouth_...

 

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References

Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. http://www.bonavacantia.gov.uk/output/
4. http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/Residents/...
5. http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/
6. http://www.bournemouth.gov.uk/