Although we can offer advice about funeral arrangements, we are not able to recommend a particular funeral director. You can obtain details about contacting your local funeral directors in telephone directories, newspapers or through your Citizen Advice Bureau.

A proportion of funeral directors are members of professional organisations, who operate a code of conduct, a complaints procedure and provide educational courses relating to their service. National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the SAIF-The National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) are examples of these.

Most funeral directors should be able to supply an estimate for a basic or low cost funeral and should not be used if they cannot do so.

Currently the average cost of a basic funeral is £2000 and this would include:

• a basic, simple coffin fitted and lined
• conveyance of the deceased from a local address or delivery of coffin
• care of deceased, including robe
• provision of a hearse to a local cemetery or crematorium and necessary conductors and bearers
• attending to all necessary arrangements with professional services and attendance

Please note that additional costs will be incurred for registration fees, cremation fees and/or cemetery fees.

A funeral support payment may help with the cost of a funeral of which you are responsible.

Although a funeral director will be invited to organise the majority of funerals, some people prefer to organise funerals themselves.

A funeral director organises the funeral by:

• collecting and moving the body
• arranging hygienic preparation and viewing of the deceased
• ensuring that statutory certificates and other information is relayed to the cemetery or crematorium office
• providing a coffin, hearse and liaising with the cemetery or crematorium office regarding the service in the chapel or at the graveside

Carrying out these services relieves the bereaved from doing what they may feel are difficult tasks.