Burial Provision in England and Wales

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Lords Chamber

[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.