A campaign spearheaded by Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, to introduce statutory minimum standards in the funeral sector, has been given a major boost by a Government commitment to improve standards.

The Health Secretary confirmed today [Tuesday 1^st September] that the Government would “bring forward comprehensive proposals to ensure respect and dignity for the deceased in every setting, to drive rogue operators out of the funeral industry, and to protect other families from suffering this same heartache.” In a Written Statement, available here, Rt Hon Yvette Cooper, announced that the Government’s proposals would “seek to crack down on rogue operators in the funeral sector and ensure better protection for bereaved families.”

The announcement follows a campaign led by Caroline after the shocking case of Elkin and Bell funeral directors in Gosport, who were found to have left 46 bodies in an unrefrigerated environment and were later found guilty of preventing a lawful burial, as well as carrying on business with intent to defraud and causing a public nuisance.

50 MPs from across the political spectrum signed a letter coordinated by Caroline and Leeds South West and Morley MP Mark Sewards calling for the Government to:

1. Publish an immediate, comprehensive response to the Fuller Inquiry recommendations and commit to implementing them in full.
2. Back amendments to the upcoming Health Bill to establish a clear, statutory regulatory framework for funeral directors.
3. Provide the necessary funding to enable the Human Tissue Authority, or other relevant public authority, to inspect, license, and regulate the funeral industry.

There are currently no minimum standards of care for the deceased, no system of statutory professional regulation, and no duty of care to a person after they have died.

This regulatory vacuum was laid bare in July when Robert Bush, the former director of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to 67 charges, including preventing the lawful and decent burial of the dead, fraud, fraudulent trading and theft.

Bush’s case is not an isolated one. In Gosport, funeral directors Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell were jailed after 46 bodies were left in unrefrigerated conditions at their premises. In Leeds, funeral director Amie Upton was found to have placed the bodies of dead children in lifelike positions in her own living room. Dame Caroline Dinenage has warned that without urgent Government intervention, further cases of neglect and abuse are inevitable.

Dame Caroline has also tabled an amendment to the Health Bill, which will be debated at Report Stage on Monday 7 September.

The new clause would require the Secretary of State to extend the remit of the Human Tissue Authority, within six months of the Bill passing, to cover the regulation of funeral directors, private mortuaries, direct cremation services and any other organisation that transports or holds the bodies of the deceased. It would also place a duty on the Authority to establish and maintain a statutory register of every business it regulates — giving families, for the first time, a way of checking whether a funeral provider is properly overseen.

In March Caroline held a Parliamentary debate where she highlighted the pressing need for “a minimum standard of qualification, accreditation or licensing, and robust inspection” in the funeral sector. During the debate, which you can read here, the Government had been ambiguous about its intentions to regulate, saying it was “continuing to consider all options to ensure that high standards are upheld consistently across the funeral sector, and that includes the possibility of introducing suitable and proportionate regulation for funeral directors.”

Today’s statement suggests that the Government will introduce a scheme of regulation which it calls “comprehensive”, “detailed”, “proper” and “formal”. Detailed plans and timetables for the implementation of these new proposals will be set out “in due course”.

Responding to the statement, Dame Caroline Dinenage said:

“I welcome the Government’s commitment to stronger oversight and proper regulation of this opaque sector. The majority of funeral directors operate with impeccable professionalism, but when it goes wrong, as with Elkin and Bell, it results in a catastrophic lack of trust in the sector.

“I will be pushing the Government to bring forward its proposals as quickly as possible.”