Heir Hunters & Council Tax
Case reference FOI2019/00356
Published 25 July 2019
Request
1. Please indicate the last date on which a genealogist, probate researcher or tracing agent was used.
2. If a researcher has been used in the past year, on how many occasions has this occurred?
3. Which company was last used and by which local authority department?
4. Does the local authority have any contract with any researcher? If so, please provide the contract document, redacted as required.
5. In the circumstances where the local authority was aware of the existence of relatives of a deceased person but lacked the resources or expertise to locate them, would the council use a genealogical researcher on an exclusive basis again?
6. Are there plans for the council to undergo a tendering process for a researcher?
7. If the council previously used heir hunters or other tracing services but no longer does so, what are the reasons behind the change in policy?
8. What is the council's policy and process for making a referral to a genealogical researcher?
9. Please identify the measures in the existing policies and procedures for making referrals to a genealogical researcher which: a) protect next of kin from overcharging through a market exposure and b) ensure all entitled relatives are found?
10. Does the local authority publish an online list of public health funerals where there is an intestacy?
11. If so, when is information added to the list? Is information only added to the list AFTER the researcher has exhausted their investigations or is it added at the same time that a referral is made to the researcher?
12. Does the list include names of deceased individuals where a researcher has been used and family have been located who have taken over responsibility for the funeral?
13. Bearing in mind the benefits to the next of kin of maintaining competition, if the local authority is not already doing so does it intend to begin using or tender for a panel of three researchers to whom each case will be referred concurrently?
14. If the local authority is still engaging in exclusive relationships with heir hunters rather than making referrals to the Bona Vacantia Division or to a panel of three and/or maintaining a regularly updated online list, what is the justification for this? Please refer to any relevant policies and legislation.
15. Please provide any records of internal decision making or external consultation from the past year which have resulted in the local authority's current stance on the use of genealogical researchers
16. Would the local authority welcome some formal guidance or regulation from the government or another independent body in order to provide clarity on the appropriate course of action for using private sector services which are free to the local authority but which may result in a third party being charged or prejudiced in some way?
17. Would the local authority welcome some formal guidance from the government or another independent body to provide clarity on the appropriate course of action for when a person dies intestate in their area and there is evidence that there are next of kin but the local authority do not have the resources or skills to locate the relatives themselves?
Response
1. Please indicate the last date on which a genealogist, probate researcher or tracing agent was used.
Not recorded but not within the last two years.
2. If a researcher has been used in the past year, on how many occasions has this occurred? N/A
3. Which company was last used and by which local authority department?
Kinfinders - Environmental Health.
4. Does the local authority have any contract with any researcher? If so, please provide the contract document, redacted as required. No
5. In the circumstances where the local authority was aware of the existence of relatives of a deceased person but lacked the resources or expertise to locate them, would the council use a genealogical researcher on an exclusive basis again? No
6. Are there plans for the council to undergo a tendering process for a researcher? No
7. If the council previously used heir hunters or other tracing services but no longer does so, what are the reasons behind the change in policy?
Aware of the potential of favouring companies and changed to putting all funerals with no next of kin on website.
8. What is the council's policy and process for making a referral to a genealogical researcher?
Not applicable
9. Please identify the measures in the existing policies and procedures for making referrals to a genealogical researcher which: a) protect next of kin from overcharging through a market exposure and b) ensure all entitled relatives are found?
Not applicable
10. Does the local authority publish an online list of public health funerals where there is an intestacy? Yes
11. If so, when is information added to the list? Is information only added to the list AFTER the researcher has exhausted their investigations or is it added at the same time that a referral is made to the researcher?
Added once the officers have commenced investigation.
12. Does the list include names of deceased individuals where a researcher has been used and family have been located who have taken over responsibility for the funeral? No
13. Bearing in mind the benefits to the next of kin of maintaining competition, if the local authority is not already doing so does it intend to begin using or tender for a panel of three researchers to whom each case will be referred concurrently?
We do not use kin hunters. All cases with over £500 are passed to Bona Vacantia.
14. If the local authority is still engaging in exclusive relationships with heir hunters rather than making referrals to the Bona Vacantia Division or to a panel of three and/or maintaining a regularly updated online list, what is the justification for this? Please refer to any relevant policies and legislation.
N/A
15. Please provide any records of internal decision making or external consultation from the past year which have resulted in the local authority's current stance on the use of genealogical researchers N/A
16. Would the local authority welcome some formal guidance or regulation from the government or another independent body in order to provide clarity on the appropriate course of action for using private sector services which are free to the local authority but which may result in a third party being charged or prejudiced in some way?
We would like to see guidance on the whole process. Settlements from estates are seldom within one year and some never.
17. Would the local authority welcome some formal guidance from the government or another independent body to provide clarity on the appropriate course of action for when a person dies intestate in their area and there is evidence that there are next of kin but the local authority do not have the resources or skills to locate the relatives themselves?
We would like to see guidance on the whole process. Settlements from estates are seldom within one year and some never.
Documents
This is Guildford Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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