Burial Provision in England and Wales
Debate between Baroness Levitt and Baroness Hussein-Ece(6 days, 4 hours ago)
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Baroness Levitt (Lab)
As with all matters relating to what happens at the end of life, these are sensitive, difficult and complicated matters. The Law Commission identifies that there can be many reasons why ashes remain uncollected, including people who simply cannot face going to pick them up. However, that does not solve the problem of them sitting on shelves, which is not an appropriate way to treat human remains. We will consider this matter carefully as part of our response to the Law Commission’s helpful and sensitive report.
Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)
My Lords, private burial grounds in England and Wales are largely unregulated, compared with the local authority-run cemeteries and burial grounds mentioned by the Minister. Hundreds of burial grounds are subject to changes in private ownership and, as they are not regulated, there is no requirement for the standards we would expect from local authorities. I declare an interest as my family are buried in such a burial ground in north London, with totally unregulated, unscrupulous owners. They do not have to have a register of those buried there and unlawful exhumations are taking place. Will the Government try to bring private burial grounds in line with the regulations for local authority-run burial grounds to stop the scandals that are taking place?
Baroness Levitt (Lab)
I am very sorry to hear of the experience of the noble Baroness. That story draws attention to exactly why the Law Commission looked at this area in the first place. Our laws concerning how burial is governed are a patchwork; they are often inconsistent with each other, they are very difficult to understand and sometimes they do not appear to be entirely logical. That is why the Law Commission is proposing that they are all brought together. As I said earlier, it is sensitive and sometimes difficult, and there are odd anomalies. Noble Lords may be aware that people can be buried in their back garden if they want to: it is not a regulated thing. We need to look at this carefully and make sure that we get it right.
Domestic Abuse: Emergency Accommodation
Debate between Baroness Levitt and Baroness Hussein-Ece(5 months ago)
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Baroness Levitt (Lab)
What the noble Baroness describes is part of a trend of observation and control, which is part of the controlling and coercive behaviour that is now recognised as an integral part of domestic abuse and every bit as violating as actual physical violence. I do not know what is being doing about the actual methods of that kind of coercion that she described, but it sounds to me as though it is already covered by the criminal law.
Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)
My Lords, I refer to some of the cases that I have dealt with over many years of women who are victims of domestic abuse. I have been involved in trying to help a family for the past year. The problem is the sheer lack of suitable accommodation for these women and their children. The impact on the children is enormous because they have to keep moving from place to place, with insecurity at school and at home. Unfortunately, in the family I am dealing with, the children who have just started secondary school are having symptoms of mental health problems as a result and are unable to sit exams. I want to go back to the Question about what support local authorities are getting from central government to provide enough accommodation and support for these families. Charities have been very restricted in funding recently.