Burial authorities, cremation authorities, and funeral directors - statutory inspection regime: consultation analysis

1. Introduction

This report presents the analysis of the Scottish Government’s public consultation on “Burial authorities, cremation authorities, and funeral directors: a statutory inspection regime for Scotland”, which was open for responses between 25 August and 17 November 2023. It received 32 responses.

The purpose of this consultation was to seek views on proposals for regulations for inspection of the funeral sector in Scotland, including burial authorities, cremation authorities, and funeral directors. The proposals contained within the consultation are an essential step in ensuring that a modern and comprehensive regulatory framework for the funeral sector in Scotland is realised.

The current consultation was published as part of a collection of consultations relating to the content of various sets of regulations that will be made under the 2016 Act which have not yet been implemented. The other three consultations related to:

• Burial regulations
• Alkaline hydrolysis (an alternative to burial or cremation)
• Licensing regulations

1.1 Background

The passing of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 (‘the 2016 Act’) repealed antiquated primary and secondary legislation, and replaced it with a consolidated Act covering burial, cremation and other forms of body disposal. It provides much-needed modernisation and improvement of processes for burial, cremation, and funeral services, and provides the framework for a regulation system which meets the needs of modern Scotland.

The 2016 Act gives Scottish Ministers the power to, amongst other things, establish an inspection regime for burial authorities, cremation authorities and funeral directors.

Burial authorities and funeral director businesses operating in Scotland are not currently subject to industry-specific statutory regulation besides that which has been commenced under the 2016 Act. Cremation authorities are currently subject to the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019. All three types of ‘relevant bodies’ are subject to broader environmental and health and safety legislation.

The consultation was intended to present the Scottish Government’s proposals on this inspection regime under section 90 of the 2016 Act, and to seek views on these proposals. The proposed inspection regime is a vital part of the Scottish Government’s overall strategy to modernise the regulations covering the funeral sector in Scotland, and will be critical in our aim to improve standards and increase the confidence that the bereaved can have in the sector.

Under the proposed inspection regime, inspections will be undertaken against the relevant regulations and Codes of Practice for each area of the sector. See below for more information on the Funeral Director Code of Practice. Codes of Practice will also be developed for cremation authorities and burial authorities, alongside the relevant regulations.