Written question asked by Bill Olner (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 January 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 February 2009. It was answered by Bridget Prentice (Labour) on Thursday, 5 February 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Cremation

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will publish guidance to local authorities on (a) the length of time ashes should be retained by crematoria and (b) the methods to be used to dispose of ashes not claimed by the family of the deceased.

Answer: We currently have no plans to issue guidance on these issues. Regulation 30 of the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008, which came into force on 1 January, sets out the duties of cremation authorities in respect of the disposal of ashes. These are that the cremation authority must give the ashes to the applicant for cremation or someone nominated by the applicant for that purpose. If the applicant does not want the ashes and has not nominated anyone, the cremation authority must retain the ashes for burial or scattering within the crematorium grounds. The authority must not inter or scatter the ashes unless it has given 14 days' notice of its intention to do so to the applicant.

Secondary information