Written question asked by Lord Sheikh (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Bach (Labour) on Thursday, 4 March 2010.

Muslim Communities: Burials

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions are in place to ensure that Muslim communities are able to bury their deceased at weekends.

Answer: Guidance published in 2006 encouraged burial ground managers to explore the local demand for out-of-hours working, especially where required for religious reasons, and to ensure that every effort was made to deal with individual applications. When deaths need to be reported to coroners—because the cause of death is violent, unnatural or of unknown cause—similar efforts are made to ensure, wherever possible, that the body of the person who has died is released as promptly as possible for burial.

Secondary information