Unnoticed death prompts changes

By Jon Douglas Radio 4's Face the Facts

When a housing association in the Highlands went to court to evict a tenant, it had not realised his death was the reason he had not paid the rent for more than a year.

William Hunter had received treatment for cancer

William Hunter's body was discovered in February 2008 at his home in the village of Milton, in Ross-shire.

He had been dead for about 14 months and his landlords, Albyn Housing Society, have since introduced new measures to try to prevent it from happening again.

It was one incident which has been investigated by BBC Radio 4's Face the Facts programme, which is exploring cases where deaths have gone undiscovered for weeks, months and even years.

Albyn Housing Society had tried to contact Mr Hunter, who was in his 70s, by calling around and sending letters to his home.

Eventually, permission was sought permission to recover the property, but it was only when a member of staff called around for a pre-eviction interview that concerns for Mr Hunter's welfare were raised, and his body was found.

Albyn said staffing issues, and the fact Mr Hunter's housing benefit continued to be paid until a review in September 2007, contributed to delays in dealing with his case.

But the housing society's chief executive, Calum MacAulay, has accepted Mr Hunter's death should have been picked up more quickly.

Mr Hunter had lain dead in his house for about 14 months

"Myself and my colleagues were all very shocked by that and a real sense of frustration and anger with ourselves that a situation like this should have arisen," he said.

After calling in external auditors, Albyn Housing Society said it had minimised delays in dealing with rent arrears and modified its database to flag up vulnerable tenants.

Mr Hunter was being treated for cancer, but had been discharged from hospital.

He was not believed to be terminally ill, and died most likely from a heart attack, while NHS Highland has said it was satisfied all necessary support was offered to him.

Mr Hunter had lost contact with members of his family.

One of his daughters, Grace Sweeney, said she had not heard from him for about 12 years.

"I wish I could turn the clock back, done things different, buried hatchets, been there for him," she said.

"I mean, he had my phone number, he had my sister's phone number, but he just obviously didn't want to be in touch with us."

The Local Government Association has estimated 4,900 funerals were funded by councils in England and Wales in 2007-8, in the absence of any relatives or next of kin.

No statistics are available on how many deaths go unnoticed for long periods of time.

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