�A new one-stop bereavement service to help people register their loved one’s death has been hailed a success.

The Just Once service was launched in October to support families registering deaths.

Havering Council launched it to shorten and simplify the registration procedure families must go through when someone dies.

Three months on, the council says it has been successful with positive feedback from users.

‘Rewarding’

Previously, after registering the death relatives would have to spend time calling a number of services to let them know.

There could be up to 30 services which needed notifying, including the DVLA, Council Tax, benefits, the passport service, libraries and the blue badge department at the council.

The new service means that when they register a death at Langtons House, they can give a few extra details so registrars can notify other agencies on their behalf.

Louise Edmonds, registrar manager at Langtons House, said: “It has been a big project to implement but it is rewarding to see the great benefits to the customer.

“Registering a death is not a particularly nice thing to do, and it is distressing for the family.

“But this is a little help at a very difficult time and we have had a really good response about it.

“It has been very successful. People have said they wished they had had this service before rather than making about 40 phone calls around everyone.”

The service is available at Langtons House, Hornchurch, and Queen’s Hospital, Rom Valley Way, Romford.

To use the service relatives need to have the following information about the deceased: national insurance number and date of birth; details of benefits they received; the medical certificate from the doctor; passport or passport number if they had one.

n For more information call 01708 433481.