Local Plans (Burial Space) Bill [HL]

Lord Blunkett Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 11th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, I rise briefly to help send this Bill on to another place. In this case, that is not a spiritual euphemism, merely a reference to the House of Commons, where, of course, a very important debate is taking place today. On Wednesday, we had a Question about the funeral industry that was not wholly unconnected with the matter before us in the Bill. I am one of those who spoke in support at Second Reading. It is interesting that no amendments have been put down, which means that the House of Commons will have the maximum chance to debate it and take it forward.

I will just add that one of the issues raised—I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed, for bringing it forward—is that different communities clearly have different attitudes to burial. Broadly speaking, and it is a broad-brush statement, some communities, over a period of 100 years or more, have become increasingly used to and comfortable with cremation, but there are other communities in this country that prefer individual burial, and with a rising population, that has put increasing pressure on burial spaces. I wish the Bill well, and it is not much of a prediction to say that this is an issue that is not going away.

[Lord Blunkett (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Mohammed. I can call him my noble friend because, until last May, he was my local councillor. I hope he achieves as much in this place as he did in mine.

[Baroness Sanderson of Welton (Con)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, for managing this Bill’s passage through your Lordships’ House, and all noble Lords who have contributed so constructively. How we bury our dead is a hugely important issue, but one which is too often overlooked or which people feel uncomfortable talking about. It should not be so.

Edmund Burke said that society is a partnership of the dead, the living and the unborn. It is only right that we can lay our loved ones to rest with dignity, and therefore right that local authorities make the necessary provisions for burial space. Just last month, it was reported that 17 local authorities in London will run out of space by 2040, and Camden, Hackney and Tower Hamlets already have. So, as the noble Lord says, there is a need for this timely Bill, which promises to address a gap in our planning framework to ensure that these issues are addressed. We look forward to its progress in the other place.