1-7 of 7 results for subject:Funerals
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My Lords, this is much to be welcomed, because a funeral is a very important part of marking the passing of, and respect for, a person. So, in the consultation, will the Government ask hospice bereavement counsellors—specifically those who see people on the ground face to face—for their comments? Often, managerial people higher up in the bereavement service may not know some of the details that have been extremely important to families and that may have caused great offence or may have been particularly helpful, and they can get lost in the retelling as things are passed up the chain.
My Lords, this is much to be welcomed, because a funeral is a very important part of marking the passing of, and respect for, a person. So, in the consultation, will the Government ask hospice bereavement counsellors—specifically those who see people on the ground face to face—for their comments? Often, managerial people higher up in the bereavement service may not know some of the details that have been extremely important to families and that may have caused great offence or may have been particularly helpful, and they can get lost in the retelling as things are passed up the chain.
The noble Baroness is quite right that funerals are very personal matters—personal to the deceased, who may or may not have left their wishes, and personal and affecting for those left behind.
So hospices and other groups will be worked with closely in the way the noble Baroness describes, as they are important stakeholders for us.
My Lords, at the Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care, chaired by Professor Sir Mike Richards, we have heard from medical examiners and the bereaved. It is clear that the ability for the bereaved to speak to a medical examiner and go through things in detail is very supportive. However, the delays in notifying the cause of death and transferring the case notes seem to be from the doctor who had seen the patient. The medical examiner cannot start until both those events have happened, and at that point their work begins. So the increasing
digitalisation of the health service and of notifications could speed up these processes. Does the Minister agree that the digitalisation proposals from the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, will bring about those changes and simplify the process?
My Lords, at the Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care, chaired by Professor Sir Mike Richards, we have heard from medical examiners and the bereaved. It is clear that the ability for the bereaved to speak to a medical examiner and go through things in detail is very supportive. However, the delays in notifying the cause of death and transferring the case notes seem to be from the doctor who had seen the patient. The medical examiner cannot start until both those events have happened, and at that point their work begins. So the increasing
digitalisation of the health service and of notifications could speed up these processes. Does the Minister agree that the digitalisation proposals from the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, will bring about those changes and simplify the process?
I agree that those changes—the move from analogue to digital, which will be outlined in the 10-year plan—will indeed help in this area, as well as many others.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funeral directors providing a direct cremation service are required to collect the body of a deceased person from a hospital mortuary within a specified time frame after the medical examiner has issued the medical certificate of cause of death.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether funeral directors providing a direct cremation service are required to collect the body of a deceased person from a hospital mortuary within a specified time frame after the medical examiner has issued the medical certificate of cause of death.
At present there is no mandatory time period within which all funeral directors across England and Wales should collect the body of a person who has died and take them into their care.
The introduction of regulation into the funeral director sector requires thorough consideration due to the complexity and sensitive nature of the area. It is essential to ensure that the rights and dignity of deceased individuals and their bereaved family members are protected, while implementing measures that are proportionate.
For that reason, the Government is considering the full range of possible next steps to ensure appropriate standards are in place, including the potential for introducing some form of appropriate, proportionate regulation of funeral directors. An update on next steps will be provided in due course.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations to ensure that the service that has been commissioned has been carried out.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations to ensure that the service that has been commissioned has been carried out.
The Law Commission is currently undertaking its “Burial, Cremation and New Funerary Methods” project which seeks to create a future-proof legal framework to address what happens to our bodies after we die and to make recommendations that will provide modern, certain and consistent regulation across different funerary methods. As part of this project, the Law Commission has considered issues surrounding direct cremation. Its recent “Burial and Cremation” consultation document invited evidence from consultees as to whether, in relation to direct cremations, there are cases where an applicant for the cremation will not know which crematorium will be used at the time of application.
The Government does not currently have plans to require all funeral directors and crematoria to publish their schedule of planned direct cremations. Direct cremations are subject to the same legislation as any other cremation. The Government will consider any changes to the legal framework governing direct cremations as part of any wider recommendations made by the Law Commission in due course. As the Law Commission project is still ongoing, we do not want to pre-empt its recommendations. We look forward to carefully considering these once published, which we expect to be towards the end of 2025.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allocate frontline funeral workers key worker or equivalent status to enable them access to regular COVID-19 testing.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allocate frontline funeral workers key worker or equivalent status to enable them access to regular COVID-19 testing.
It is for local authorities to decide where to introduce testing in their areas and which cohorts testing will cover, including funeral workers. In addition to local authorities, NHS Test and Trace will also work closely with other Government departments to increase workplace testing for medium and large organisations within their sectors.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funeral workers with access to Test and Trace risk assessments by Tier One contract tracers.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funeral workers with access to Test and Trace risk assessments by Tier One contract tracers.
Public Health England’s Health Protection Teams (HPTs) undertake tier 1 contact tracing and have a key role in investigating workplace outbreaks; this includes in the funeral services industry.
In line with other essential services, COVID-19 cases working in the funeral sector are not automatically escalated to HPTs. If contact tracing results in staffing levels, due to high numbers of staff being asked to self-isolate, that jeopardise the continued functioning of their essential service then the employers are advised to discuss with the local HPT who can review the risk assessment in this light
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether frontline staff working in the funeral industry will be considered as a priority group to receive vaccination against COVID-19.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether frontline staff working in the funeral industry will be considered as a priority group to receive vaccination against COVID-19.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) are the independent experts who provide advice to Government on which vaccine(s) the United Kingdom should use, and which groups to prioritise. Whilst there is a desire for the whole UK population to be vaccinated, there may need to be an element of prioritisation - based on availability, evidence on safety and efficacy in different population groups and constraints in supply.
The committee – in their interim advice - have advised that for Phase 1, the vaccine first be given to care home residents and staff, followed by people over 80 and health and social workers, then to the rest of the population in order of age and clinical risk factors in the initial phase. We will consider the Committee’s advice carefully as further data emerges in preparation for Phase 2 including for critical workers in other essential sectors. Our vaccination programmes are led by the latest scientific evidence and we expect the Committee’s advice to develop as more evidence is gathered.