Repeated failures to prevent dead people from being abused in funeral parlours and mortuaries highlight the urgent need for regulation of funeral services in England, an inquiry has found.
Sir Jonathan Michael is chairing the second phase of an inquiry into how the necrophiliac killer David Fuller was able to sexually abuse the bodies of scores of women and girls in hospital mortuaries.
On Tuesday Michael published an interim report calling for urgent funeral regulation after the Hull funeral parlour scandal and growing evidence of “systemic failures” in protecting the dignity of the deceased.
As it stands, there is nothing to stop funeral directors storing bodies in garages, the report says.
Police are investigating Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull after 35 bodies and suspected human ashes were recovered this year.
Michael does not identify the firm by name but his report cites all the main allegations against it, including bodies being stored unrefrigerated, and unidentified remains and ashes being recovered from the premises. The report says the allegations “emphasise the urgent need for independent regulation”.
It says that despite widespread shock and disgust at Fuller’s abuse of dead women and girls, there is “little evidence of changes in practice in the sector in response” to the case.
It says “poor practice in the funeral sector may continue unchecked” unless the government introduces regulation, including a licensing scheme and mandatory standards.
Launching the report, Michael said: “Anyone can set themselves up as a funeral director. They could do it from their home and keep the bodies of the deceased in their garage without anybody being able to stop them. That cannot be right.
“We need a regulatory regime that will not tolerate any form of abuse or any practices that compromise the security and dignity of the deceased. The funeral directors I have met in conducting this inquiry have been caring and professional. However, sadly, there are exceptions.”
His interim report says: “The inquiry would expect to be informed by the government what this statutory regulatory regime will be before publication of the inquiry’s final report.”
Other alleged incidents reported as part of the inquiry include: bodies being left to decompose; bodies being left unattended in unlocked buildings; issues with identification of the deceased; and incidents where hospitals have handed over corpses with catheters and intubation tubes still in place.
The report says: “The variation in practice regarding security in the funeral sector, together with the incidence of cases of neglect we are aware of, suggests that there is a systemic failure in parts of the sector to protect the security and dignity of the deceased.”
It notes various calls for the funeral sector to be regulated, including by the funeral services ombudsman, and points out that regulation is being implemented in Scotland.
Michael’s report says: “It is clear to me that many people believe or assume that the sector is already regulated and that they are shocked to find this is not the case.”
Michael found that the sector was “an unregulated free-for-all”. The report says: “We found that anyone can be a funeral director. They do not need a licence, experience, qualifications or training, and they can use whatever facilities and equipment they choose.”
There is no public body that can stop any abuse of the dead that falls short of criminal behaviour, the report says.
“There is no organisation with specific powers to stop a funeral director from operating as such in the event of poor practice, misconduct or neglect falling short of a criminal threshold or which is not within the remit of other regulatory bodies, such as the Financial Conduct Authority or the Health and Safety Executive.”
According to the report, officials at the Ministry of Justice told Michael they were “evaluating the effectiveness of the current oversight arrangements” and awaiting the recommendations from Michael’s inquiry.
The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) warned that regulation could increase the cost of funerals.
Its chief executive, Terry Tennens, said: “SAIF has proposed a phased co-regulator model that will deliver a robust inspection and standards regime based on the Scottish government’s funeral director code of practice.
“And it will do this without loading excessive costs on to funeral service providers and by extension the families they serve.
“SAIF is ready to work constructively with the government with the aim of delivering a model of regulation that works for all and is genuinely capable of preventing a repeat of the unacceptable events in Hull earlier this year.”
