Clackmannanshire Council Online

Tell Us Once - Death service

Tell Us Once - Death service

When someone has died we can help you tell the people who need to know

When someone has died, there are lots of things that need to be done at a time when you probably least feel like doing them. One of these is contacting government departments and local council services that need to be told.

We provide a free service which will make things easier. This new service means that you can just tell us and these organisations will be contacted.

How the service can help you

When someone has died, their death needs to be registered with the Registrar. Once that's done, several other organisations may have to be contacted and given the same information.

We can help you to give the information to the Department for Work and Pensions and they can pass on this information to a number of other government departments and local council services for you.

How you can contact us to use the service

Once you have registered the death with a registrar there are a number of ways you can use the service:

• In person
  • When you call to register the death you will automatically be offered the option to use this service immediately after registration.
  • You may wish to phone in advance to make an appointment to see us. Please see our contact details below.
• By telephone
  • If you would like to speak to someone on the phone please call the Department for Work and Pensions on 0800 085 7308. The lines are open Monday to Friday between 8am and 8pm. This number is free to call from a BT landline, but other providers, including mobile phone providers, may charge you.
  • If you don't speak English, call 0800 085 7308 and one of the advisers and an interpreter will call you back and help you.
• Online
  • After you have registered the death you can use the online service. The Registrar will give you a unique reference number which you will need to use the service. Visit GOV.UK.

How we will treat the information you give us

The information you give will be treated securely and confidentially. The organisations who are contacted will use the information to update records, to end services, benefits and credits as appropriate and to resolve any outstanding issues. They may use this information in other ways, but only as the law allows.

The information you provide will be used to update records and will not be used to start a new claim. If you want to make a new claim to any benefit you will need to contact the relevant organisation.

Privacy

This service is committed to ensuring that the information provided is protected. Our privacy policy tells you how the information you provide when using this service will be used and protected. Ask the adviser if you wish to see the full privacy policy or you can look it up on the GOV.UK website.

What happens to the information?

If you decide to use the service, you can choose which of the following you would like to notify using the service:

• Local councils
  • Housing Benefit Office
  • Council Tax
  • Collection of payment for local services
  • Libraries
  • Electoral services
  • Blue Badges
  • Adult Services
  • Children's Services
  • Council Housing
• Department for Work and Pensions
  • Pensions and Benefits
  • Overseas Health Team
• HM Revenue & Customs
  • Child Benefit
  • Child Tax Credit & Working Tax Credit
  • Personal Taxation
• Identity and Passport Service
  • Passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
  • Driving licence
• Ministry of Defence, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
  • War Pensions Scheme

This list is subject to change and the most updated list is held on the GOV.UK site.

Additional services

If you wish, we may be able to share the information you give us to update information held by other local council services.

Information you will need to use this service

It will help if you have the following information with you, where relevant, about the person who has died, when you use the service:

• Their National Insurance number and date of birth
• Details of any benefits or services they were receiving
• Their death certificate and/or Tell us Once service number provided by the Registrar
• Their Driving Licence or Driving Licence number
• Their Passport or Passport number and town/country of birth
• Details of Blue Badge
• Dates of any recent stays in hospital, a hospice or care home

We may also ask you for the contact details for:

• Their next of kin
• A surviving husband, wife or civil partner
• The person dealing with their estate

You must obtain the permission of the persons listed above if you are going to provide us with information about them.

Next of kin

If you are the next of kin (closest relative by blood or marriage/civil partnership to the deceased), your entitlement to benefits may change, so please have your own National Insurance number and/or date of birth with you when you contact us.

If you are not the next of kin, or the person who is dealing with the deceased's estate (the person sorting out their property, belongings and money), you can still use the service if you have their permission to provide their details and act on their behalf.

Please remember that it is your responsibility to ensure that all organisations that pay you a benefit, Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit or provide a service to you have correct and up to date information about you.