Funerals: Death Certificate Delays

Lord Scriven Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am sure that we all wish to pay tribute to the memory of my noble friend’s late father. I appreciate the points that he has made. It is not the case that delays to funerals can be identified and formally linked with the changes in death certification. My noble friend raised a lot of points, many of which are valid. In a bereavement, it is more important than ever that any official processes—as well as the funeral sector itself—work as seamlessly and sensitively as possible. I assure my noble friend that not only are we driving improvement by implementing the death registration reforms but we are very focused on supporting the bereaved. On my noble friend’s point about regulation, I am not aware of any plans at present.

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, to solve a problem, first you have to accept that it exists. Everyone involved in funerals, from the GPs doing the certification to the funeral directors, say that there is a direct link between the extra time to deal with funerals and the reforms. The reforms were needed, but can the Minister clarify the number of medical examiners required in each region—because regional variation exists—to prevent lengthy delays in funeral arrangements? What assessment have the Government made to ensure that the current number of medical examiners is sufficient to meet regional demand?