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My Lords, the Government laid a Written Ministerial Statement on 1 September confirming that detailed proposals for formal regulation of the funeral sector are being developed. The Department of Health and Social Care is leading this work with the Ministry of Justice and other departments, working closely with bereaved families, funeral providers, faith groups, local authorities and others.
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In thanking the Minister for her response, I pay tribute to those affected by the terrible failures in Hull, where I serve, and to the clergy and local community services that have supported the bereaved. I welcome proposals for regulation; what happened in Hull must never happen again. I therefore ask the Minister: when will the department set out further details on the timeline for these proposals and their implementation? Mindful that many of those who suffered in Hull were those least able to afford a funeral for their loved ones, I ask also whether questions of cost and its links to bereavement also be considered.
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I also want to express my sorrow and support for those who are so deeply affected. Those who have died cannot speak, so it is left to the rest of us to speak for them. In this case, terrible tragedies were put in the path of proper grieving and understanding about loss. I very much want to associate myself with that and to say that all the matters that the most reverend Primate refers to will be considered. We have already accepted the majority of the 75 recommendations from the Fuller inquiry, but obviously the Written Ministerial Statement says how much further we are going to go. When I am able to update on timelines, I will be glad to do so.
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My Lords, I too want to register our condolences to the people in Hull who were affected so badly. Scotland, as of 2025, has a fully searchable database of registered funeral directors. One can work out who the owners are, read reports and have details of any complaints which have been made. How long is it going to take us to get to where Scotland already is?
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We look forward to working with other jurisdictions to see how their best practice works, and that will, of course, include Scotland. I am very keen that we continue to work closely, for example, with the funeral provider cohort, most of whom, let us acknowledge this, do a first-rate job with immense dignity and professionalism and have been let down also. Safeguards have to be effective without imposing disproportionate burdens and, while it is a bit premature for me to prescribe how the regulatory framework will work, I can assure the noble Baroness that we are looking very closely at what she raises.
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My Lords, I support the Government in regulation, because what has happened in Hull has been tragic for the people concerned. We have noticed increasing television advertising for funerals without any form of ceremony or service. Of course, that is personal preference, but it looks as though the public are increasingly putting their faith in funeral directors to have sole charge of the deceased from the time they die to the time they are cremated, without necessarily having any input from people around them—of course, some people have no surviving relatives or friends—and I think that trust needs to be regulated.
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That, my Lords, is exactly why we are taking the action that we are.
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My Lords, some communities prefer to have open-air funeral pyres. What is the Government’s policy on that?
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I cannot give a detailed reply to my noble friend, much as I would love to, but I will be glad to look into that and write to him. The main thing to say is that, in all this work, our focus is on the security and dignity of people after death across a wide range of settings. That is what will guide us.
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My Lords, it is quite shocking that, in this third decade of the 21st century, there are currently no minimum standards of care for the deceased, and there is no system of statutory professional regulation or duty of care to a person after they have died. Is it the Government’s intention that those matters should be covered in the regulations they intend to bring forward?
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I can assure my noble friend that that is indeed what will guide us.
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My Lords, I warmly welcome the most reverend Primate’s Question and the Government’s response to it. The terrible events in Hull remind us that there are occasions when terrible events lead to worthwhile reform. In the 1820s, the discovery that Burke and Hare were murdering people in Edinburgh led this House to pass the Anatomy Act 1832, which was a step forward in this area. Can my noble friend outline what range of consultations will be held? There are many reputable funeral director chains, but there are also individuals; it is a wide field. Can my noble friend outline the extent of the consultation that will precede what I hope will be government action?
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My noble friend endorses the point that I made earlier, which I know the House recognises: that the majority of funeral providers, even within the current set-up, are providing a first-rate service that encourages trust as well as respect and service. However, because of these terrible circumstances, we have to act to protect people. I say to my noble friend that we are working very closely with funeral providers to get it right, so that they can do the work they need to do without undue burden, but with protection for those whom they are working for.
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My Lords, I associate these Benches with the comments that were made about the poor people and their families who had to suffer in Hull. The most reverend Primate spoke about the impact on local communities and how legislation should consider costs. Given this, do the Government intend to ensure that smaller independent funeral directors—most of which, as the Minister said, do an amazing job in helping families through a very difficult time of bereavement, and which serve many of our communities with great care—are properly involved in shaping these reforms, and that it is not just the bigger companies and organisations that are involved? What steps will be taken to guarantee that any new requirements are proportionate and do not place unsustainable extra burdens on providers, while of course avoiding a repeat of the scandal that we saw in this case?
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This is the way that we are conducting ourselves. It would be a bit premature to draw conclusions on any funding requirements—we are, of course, talking about private businesses. However, we are looking—as we always do, but particularly in this area—at the costs, benefits and the impacts of different approaches before decisions are taken. Within that, we are working with the full range of funeral providers and not just the large funeral providers.
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My Lords, this is much to be welcomed, because a funeral is a very important part of marking the passing of, and respect for, a person. So, in the consultation, will the Government ask hospice bereavement counsellors—specifically those who see people on the ground face to face—for their comments? Often, managerial people higher up in the bereavement service may not know some of the details that have been extremely important to families and that may have caused great offence or may have been particularly helpful, and they can get lost in the retelling as things are passed up the chain.
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The noble Baroness is quite right that funerals are very personal matters—personal to the deceased, who may or may not have left their wishes, and personal and affecting for those left behind. So hospices and other groups will be worked with closely in the way the noble Baroness describes, as they are important stakeholders for us.
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My Lords, I want to pick up a point made from the Opposition Front Bench a few moments ago about family funeral directors. Over the last 20 years or so, we have seen many of those, in effect, bought up by large conglomerates. It is important that any regulation is created in a way that makes it commensurate for those small providers and does not create a further incentive for the large, sometimes multinational, bodies that do not have that degree of personal understanding of a particular local community.
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On that point, I was interested to look at the figures, which show that the largest three businesses collectively account for approximately a third. The right reverend Prelate emphasises a point made by other noble Lords about the importance of ensuring that regulation enables all sizes and scales of businesses in this area to do the job we need them to do and has regard to all the points that we have referred to here, while letting them conduct their business.