Under the terms of the National Assistance Act 1948 S.50 (I) Allerdale Borough Council is obliged to dispose of the remains of persons found dead for whom no responsible agent can be found, primarily in order to prevent a health hazard.

Under the same Act the council may have cause to bury people for whom there is no other agent and where there are no resources - but is not obliged to do so, especially where the deceased is in the care of others (e.g. hospital, hostel, nursing home).

In all cases of local authority burial, the costs are borne by the Authority and are recoverable against any estate of the dead person - which can take up considerable manpower resources.