Full News Report

9th December 2024

Burial and cremation laws may be overhauled

THE Law Commission is consulting members of the public and other stakeholders on reforms to burial and cremation law.

The Burial and Cremation Consultation Paper is open for comment until Thursday, January 9 (2025).

Approximately half-a-million people die in England and Wales each year, and the death care sector is said to have experienced significant turbulence in recent years, not least with the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Commission says that its Consultation Paper has been published against a backdrop of change in the sector but adds that the picture is also one of ‘overdue’ reform. 

Much of the legislation governing cemeteries in general dates from the second half of the 19th Century.

Two issues of cremation law are said to be causing particular problems for funeral directors. 

First, the law provides for crematoria to scatter or bury ashes after 14 days if they are uncollected. Funeral directors, though, have no similar provision, and it has been reported that they hold some 250,000 sets of uncollected ashes as a result. 

As well as noting that storage is a problem, some funeral directors question whether their premises are a suitable final resting place. 

Secondly, due to an anomaly created by historic Government guidance, many funeral directors hold large numbers of pacemakers removed before cremation for safety reasons. But funeral directors also lack any legal authority to dispose of these.

Members of the public can respond on-line to the Consultation Paper by visiting: https://lawcom.gov.uk/project/burial-and-cremation.

Alternatively, comments may be sent by e-mail to bcnfm@lawcommission.gov.uk or by post to Burial and Cremation Team, Law Commission, 1st Floor, Tower, 52 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1H 9AG. 

If people send their comments by post, the Law Commission says that it would also be helpful if, whenever possible, people could also send those views by e-mail.

DATA on the cost of funerals indicates a significant increase over the last few decades, with rises continuing. 

The annual SunLife ‘Cost of Dying’ report has found that the cost of a basic funeral rose from £3,953 to £4,141 from 2022 to 2023. These costs have risen 126 per cent since their first report in 2004, outpacing inflation.

British Seniors’ funeral costs report finds that a burial plot costs on average £1,107; burial fees £1,229, and cremation fees £1,383, although no comparison is made year-on-year.