Funeral directors: draft code of practice consultation

4. The consultation

The Code [please read the Funeral Director: Code of Practice before answering any questions in the consultation.]  

34. The Code is organised into the following sections:

1. Engagement of the funeral director and transfer of the deceased. 
2. Care of the deceased and the premises used by the funeral director.
3. Planning of the funeral service according to the wishes of the deceased and the bereaved persons.
4. Delivery of the funeral.
5. Complaints. 
6. Business continuity and managing risks.

35. We are seeking your views on every section of the Code.  It is extremely important to us that you have an opportunity to consider the proposals within the Code and tell us what you think.

36. In addition, there are some areas of the Code that we would like you to pay particular attention to and these form the basis of the questions set out below. 

Mortuaries/care facilities 

37. Section 2 of the Code proposes that care of the deceased must take place in a location(s) specifically designed for that purpose and that the funeral director’s business must ensure that the care facility or mortuary is fit for that purpose.  This requirement will likely formalise existing processes by making funeral directors check that their care facilities and mortuaries are indeed fit for purpose, and by doing so will help to improve the consistency of care facilities and mortuaries across Scotland over time.

Question 1: 

If you own or operate a funeral director business, will the requirement to have a designated and fit for purpose care facility or mortuary as outlined in the Code have an impact on your business?  

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Refrigeration

38. The Scottish Government wants to ensure that no matter where the funeral director operates in Scotland, deceased persons will be cared for in a dignified, appropriate, safe manner, and at a good standard.

39. Following extensive engagement with the funeral industry, the Scottish Government is of the view that the use of refrigeration units, or other purpose built cold rooms, is good practice in the care and preservation of deceased persons.  The care and preservation of each deceased person in their care should be of the utmost importance to every funeral director and should form a crucial element of their business operating model.  The ability to refrigerate deceased persons significantly increases the resilience of the funeral director’s business, such as in the face of an unexpected delay to a funeral arrangement, and very importantly ensures the deceased person is stored in a dignified and respectful way, until the funeral takes place.  

40. SAIF Scotland has already taken the step of requiring its members to have refrigeration on site for all deceased persons at a ratio of 1:50 (that is 1 refrigeration space required for every 50 deceased persons taken into the care of the funeral director per year).  

41. The Scottish Government believes that the use of refrigeration is a critical element of caring for a deceased person in a dignified, appropriate and respectful manner. 

42. With this in mind, the Code also proposes a ratio of 1:50.  That is, for every 50 deceased persons taken into the care of the funeral director on average per year, the funeral director will be required to have, or to have access to, one refrigeration space.  This ratio of 1:50 has been set in consultation with businesses and trade association representatives during the Code drafting process.

43. Purpose built refrigeration units and temperature controlled cold rooms are acceptable forms of refrigeration where these can achieve appropriate and consistent temperature requirements.  The Code does not make it a requirement for funeral directors to have refrigeration.  It states that where a business does not provide its own refrigeration a formal written and managed Service Level Agreement (SLA) with another provider of refrigeration should be in place.  This SLA could be, for example, with another funeral director or a local NHS Board.  

Question 2: 

The Code sets out a ratio of the number of refrigeration spaces to number of deceased persons per year at 1:50. Do you agree with the ratio of 1:50? 

Strongly agree

Agree

Don’t know

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please explain your answer.

Question 3: 

Do you agree there should be flexibility for the funeral director to provide refrigeration either as part of their business model, or to be able to access refrigeration by means of a formal SLA with a refrigeration provider/another funeral director?

Strongly agree

Agree

Don’t know

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please explain your answer.

Question 4: 

If you own or operate a funeral director business, do you think the requirement to refrigerate the deceased will have an impact on your business? 

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Viewing of the deceased

44. Information gathered by the Inspector of Funeral Directors suggests that offering viewing of the deceased as a service provided by the funeral director is linked to good care practices.  

45. The vast majority of funeral directors in Scotland routinely offer viewing of the deceased where that is requested by the client.  There are, however, some funeral directors that do not offer this service and may not be able to facilitate viewing should viewing be requested by a client.  The Scottish Government considers that offering viewing of the deceased as a service is integral to good care practices.  The Code reflects this view and proposes that the funeral director must be able to offer or facilitate viewing of the deceased as a service and  provide or have access to an appropriate and dedicated viewing space.

46. The Code also acknowledges that there are circumstances where viewing of the deceased would not be recommended by the funeral director.  This may be, for example, where despite the best efforts of the funeral director or due to circumstances outwith their control, the deceased person is in a poor physical condition.  If the funeral director makes a recommendation against viewing due to its likelihood to cause distress to the client, the funeral director should provide the client with written/electronic advice as to why viewing is not recommended.

47. In cases where there is a risk of infection, the funeral director must always follow relevant health and safety legislation and guidance.  

48. In all cases where viewing is not recommended by the funeral director to the client, the Code emphasises that an appropriate written record must be kept.  This should be available on request for any Inspector of Funeral Directors. 

Question 5: 

Would offering viewing of the deceased as a service have an impact on a funeral director business? 

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Accredited Training and Qualifications

The Scottish Government believes that funeral directors, funeral arranger/administrators and funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers should have access to accredited training or qualifications (e.g. accredited by the Scottish Qualifications Authority, or by another official UK accreditation body).  Currently, the infrastructure is not yet in place to deliver widespread accredited training and qualifications to Scotland’s funeral directors and funeral arrangers/administrators or funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers.  As such, training and qualifications have not been included in the Code.  However, the Scottish Government believes that widely available accredited training and qualifications is a natural and necessary step for the funeral industry to take.  Accredited training and qualifications are commonly found in the funeral industries of many other developed countries.  We would, therefore, like to hear views on the subject of widely available accredited training and qualifications for funeral directors, funeral arrangers/administrators and funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers in Scotland.

49. The Scottish Government recognises that funeral directing is an area where many of those delivering a funeral, be it funeral directors, funeral arrangers/administrators or funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers, may not have undertaken any training or qualifications to do so.

50. This position most likely reflects the history of the industry where historically services provided by an undertaker extended to no more than the supply of a coffin and transport to the local cemetery.  The other requirements: laying out the deceased, opening the grave, the wake, etc. were arranged and carried out by others.

51. The role of the funeral director has evolved in recent decades.  Nowadays the funeral director requires: administrative skills, communication skills, a knowledge of legal and health and safety requirements, customer service skills, management skills, etc.  

52. Trade associations have, in some cases for a number of decades, offered a variety of courses, training opportunities and qualifications for their members.  Larger, corporate businesses also have a number of internal training schemes for both employees new to the business, and requirements for more experienced staff to complete Continuous Professional Development (CPD).

53. However, currently there are no funeral director qualifications listed on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).  There are a handful of funeral service qualifications listed on the Register of Regulated Qualifications (for England and Northern Ireland), and on the Credit and Qualifications Framework (for Wales - although they are recorded as ‘no longer available’).  At present, accredited qualifications are not widely available to Scotland’s funeral directors. 

54. The SCQF is the national qualifications framework for Scotland.  It has 12 levels which reflect the current Scottish education and training system.  Each SCQF Level has a set of Level Descriptors which provides a broad understanding of the expected attainment at every level.  You can view the SCQF here.

55. The SCQF is in part managed by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) (the SQA are members of the SCQF’s Board of Directors).  The SQA has a dual role in Scotland – SQA Accreditation and SQA Awarding Body.  The SQA Accreditation accredits qualifications other than degrees; whereas SQA Awarding Body approves, and quality assures Centres that plan to enter people for qualifications.

Question 6: 

Do you agree that all funeral director, funeral arranger/administrator and funeral service operative/assistant/driver/bearer training and qualifications should be accredited by an official accreditation body, such as the Scottish Qualifications Authority or another official UK accreditation body? 

Strongly agree

Agree

Don’t know

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please explain your answer.

Question 7: 

Is Level 6 an appropriate level on the Scottish Qualifications and Credit Framework (SCQF) for a funeral director qualification to be registered at? 

Is Level 5 an appropriate level on the SCQF for a funeral arranger/administrator qualification to be registered at? 

Is Level 4 an appropriate level on the SCQF for a funeral service operator/assistant/driver/bearer to be registered at? 

(For some context, SCQF Level 6 is the level of Higher awards, SCQF Level 5 is the level of National 5 awards or the first level Modern Apprenticeships are awarded at, and SCQF Level 4 is the level of National 4 awards. You can view the SCQF here and you can view how SCQF levels compare to levels in England and Wales, as well as Europe, here).

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Question 8: 

Do you agree that funeral directors, funeral arrangers/administrators and funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers should undertake training and receive qualifications that are primarily vocational in nature, with a focus on gaining practical skills over more classroom-based learning?

Strongly agree

Agree

Don’t know

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Please explain your answer.

Embalming – training and qualifications

56. The Code places care of the deceased and transparency of services at its core.  By following the requirements set out in the Code, it is the Scottish Government’s intention that the funeral industry becomes more open in its policies, practices and procedures.  The Code will require funeral directors to be clear about the goods and services they offer and will encourage conversations that otherwise may have been avoided in the past, such as the appropriateness of embalming and the associated cost of such a service. 

57. The Code sets out expected approaches to ‘care practices’, a term widely used by funeral directors.  Embalming can be an effective method of preservation, however, embalming is not necessary nor is it appropriate in every case.  The Code, therefore, is clear that there is not a requirement to embalm a deceased person in every case and that the funeral director may choose to offer or not offer embalming as a service they provide.^[2]

58. It is widely recognised that significant variation exists in training, qualifications, experience and, ultimately, practice standards of embalmers operating in Scotland.  A trade embalmer may be self-employed and be contracted by the funeral director to provide embalming services as and when required.  Alternatively, the funeral director may practice embalming themselves and, like the trade embalmer, may or may not have qualifications to do so.  The funeral director’s business may also employ a dedicated embalmer.  In many cases, those practicing embalming have been trained ‘on the job’ by their predecessors or colleagues within a business. 

59. The British Institute of Embalming (BIE) currently offers a two-year embalming training course.  Other significantly shorter courses are offered elsewhere.  Similarly to the training courses for funeral directors etc. the Scottish Government believes that those wishing to study embalming should have access to accredited training or qualifications.  Again, we believe that providing widely available accredited training and qualifications is a natural and necessary step for the funeral industry to take.  Given the significant differences in the duration of embalming courses on offer we have been unable to propose an SCQF level for an embalming qualification at this time.  

60. The number of courses available and opportunity for training has been an important consideration when drafting the Code.  Engagement with funeral directors, their representatives and BIE representatives will continue as the implementation of the 2016 Act progresses.  Taking into consideration that the subject of embalming will require further examination, we invite you to take a view on the following question.

Question 9: 

Do you believe that accredited training and qualifications should be available to those wishing to undertake embalming courses in the future?  

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Other questions - implementation timescale

Question 10: 

The Scottish Government proposes that 18 months is a reasonable amount of time for funeral directors to meet the requirements of the Code before it comes into force. What do you consider to be a reasonable timeframe for funeral directors to meet the requirements of the Code before it comes into force? 

12 months
18 months
24 months
25 months or more

Please explain your answer.

Other questions - Continuous Professional Development

Question 11: 

In order to stay up to date on industry or profession best practices, many industries and professions require members to complete a number of hours per year of Continuous Professional Development (CPD).  CPD can include short industry courses, attending seminars, trainings, etc.  

How many hours of CPD per year do you think funeral directors, funeral arrangers/administrators and funeral service operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers respectively should need to complete in order to stay up to date on industry best practices in the funeral industry?

For funeral directors:

0 hours
Between 1 and 15 hours
Between 16 and 30 hours
More than 30 hours

Please explain your answer.

For funeral arrangers/administrators:

0 hours
Between 1 and 15 hours
Between 16 and 30 hours
More than 30 hours

Please explain your answer.

For funeral operatives/assistants/drivers/bearers:

0 hours
Between 1 and 15 hours
Between 16 and 30 hours
More than 30 hours

Please explain your answer.

Other questions – record keeping

Question 12: 

The Code stipulates that records should be kept in certain circumstances. In your view, how long should the Code require funeral directors to keep these records? (For reference, the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019 place a duty on all cremation authorities to keep records relating to a cremation for 50 years.)

5 years
25 years
50 years
75 years
More than 100 years

Please explain your answer.

Other questions – impacts and barriers

Questions 13: 

Do you think the standards set out in the Code will raise barriers for people considering entering work in the funeral director industry for the first time?

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Question 14: 

Do you think the standards set out in the Code will have a negative impact on funeral director businesses plans for expansion?

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Question 15: 

Do you think the standards set out in the Code will have a negative impact on innovation and experimentation in the funeral industry?

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Under the Equality Act 2010, the Scottish Government has a legal duty to ask the following question as part of any public consultation.

Question 16: 

How would the Code impact on the people of Scotland with respect to age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or socioeconomic disadvantage?

Please consider both potentially positive and negative impacts, and if applicable, advise on any mitigating actions we should take.

Other questions – reportable events

Question 17: The Code sets out two events/reportable incidents that should be reported to inspectors within 48 hours. These are: damage to ashes and complaints about the care of deceased persons. Are there any other events/reportable incidents that should automatically be reported to inspectors within 48 hours e.g. accidental damage to a deceased person?

Yes

No

Don’t know

Please explain your answer.

Do you have any other comments on any aspects of the Code not covered by the questions in this consultation? Please use this space.