Funeral directors ‘must allow voluntary checks to ensure trust in service’

FUNERAL directors across the country should subject themselves to voluntary checks in order to ensure the public trust them, ministers have heard.

Labour MP Emma Hardy called on the government to introduce a regulator of funeral directors, following a major police investigation in her Hull West and Hessle constituency.

Justice Minister Mike Freer said he is soon to meet funeral company trade bodies to discuss voluntary regulation, and told MPS he believes a “comprehensive review” of the law around cremation is needed.

Legacy Independent Funeral Directors has been under investigation after police recovered 35 bodies, as well as suspected human ashes, at its site in Hessle Road in Hull. More than 1,500 calls have been made to police by previous customers since the probe began, Humberside Police said.

Police previously arrested a 46-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman on suspicion of prevention of a lawful and decent burial, fraud by false representation, and fraud by abuse of position. They have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

In the Commons, Ms Hardy said she is “utterly committed to regulating this industry and never again allowing that appalling, heartbreaking situation to be repeated”.

She added: “I wondered if [the minister] could speak a little bit more about timeframes and whether he agrees that, in the meantime, before statutory regulation comes in, if we could encourage all funeral directors to subject themselves to the voluntary regulation provided by one of the trade bodies instead, and do everything they can to reassure the public that not all funeral directors are like the appalling situation that we have had in my constituency?”

Mr Freer said he is working alongside Communities Minister Simon Hoare on the initial response to the incident in Hull.

He added: “What I am doing is meeting this afternoon with the two major trade bodies to see how they can assist on voluntary inspections to ensure that what we have seen has come out of this terrible incident – which nobody would have thought could have possibly would have occurred, is quite horrific – is that we get this right, so that people do have confidence in the vast majority of funeral directors, who are entirely respectable and treat the deceased with the respect and with the care that they expect.”

Mr Freer continued: “In light of developments since then, I believe a more comprehensive review is needed, and that is why the Law Commission has agreed to consider the law governing cremation as part of their burial, cremation and new funerary methods project.

“That has already commenced and we await their findings with interest.”