Funeral Director Code of Practice: business and regulatory impact assessment

7 Regulatory and EU Alignment Impacts

The regulatory context within which Scottish Government policy is developed changed on 31 December 2020 when the UK left the EU single market. This section requires you to consider what, if any, impacts the proposed measure will have on the following regulatory features related to leaving the EU: intra-UK trade, international trade and the Scottish Government’s EU alignment policy.

7.1 Intra-UK Trade

Is this measure likely to impact on intra-UK trade? No

• Whether, and in what way, the provisions (particularly Parts 1-3) of the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 are relevant to the measure

The proposed Funeral Director Code sets minimum standards of care for the deceased and for the practices of funeral directors in Scotland. It therefore focuses on the provision of services and is a key step in the regulation of funeral directors in Scotland. It does not create regulatory requirements or authorisation requirements in respect of services in terms of the Internal Market Act 2020 (‘the IMA’). Part 1 (goods) and Part 3 (qualifications) of the IMA are not relevant here as funeral directors are primarily providing services instead of goods, and the Code does not introduce any qualification requirements for funeral directors.

In future, it is intended that inspection regulations for the funeral sector and licensing regulations for funeral directors will be implemented. These regulations were the subject of public consultations in August-November 2023. If these are implemented, at that time the Funeral Director Code will form part of a broader authorisation scheme for Scottish funeral directors and any interactions with the IMA will require further consideration.

• The nature and impact of policy divergence across UK nations likely to result from the introduction of the measure

The Funeral Director Code will introduce a statutory set of minimum standards of care for the deceased and for the practices of funeral directors in Scotland. This will be the first time in the UK that a sector-specific Code is introduced – no other UK nation has a statutory Funeral Director Code. It is not anticipated, but is possible, that members of the public in other UK nations may wish to engage Scottish funeral directors given the minimum standards set out in the Code.

• Whether the measure falls within the scope of an existing Common Framework agreement.

This measure does not fall within the scope of an existing Common Framework agreement.