Burial Provision in England and Wales

Lord Mohammed of Tinsley Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Mohammed of Tinsley]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of burial provision in England and Wales; and whether they consider existing statutory duties on local authorities to be sufficient to ensure long-term burial capacity.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Baroness Levitt) (Lab)]

My Lords, we are aware of increasing localised pressure on burial spaces in some parts of the country. The Government do not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds, which are managed locally. At present, there is no statutory duty on local authorities to make provision for burial, so it is a matter for each authority to allocate local resources in line with local priorities

[Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (LD)]

I thank the Minister for the Answer, but, since I tabled this Question, a number of individuals and groups from Birmingham, Dewsbury and Croydon, as well as my home city of Sheffield, have been in touch with me, deeply concerned about the lack of burial provision, often provided by the council but also by individuals and organisations, often religious based. Clearly, the system at the moment is not working. Will the Minister consider looking at what else the Government can do to issue guidance? For example, when councils draw up local plans, they have space for homes, businesses et cetera. Could the Government not look at insisting that they also provide burial grounds?

[Baroness Levitt (Lab)]

We absolutely recognise the concerns, and I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising the matter. Local authorities’ independence from central government means that they are responsible for managing their resources in line with local priorities, which they are best placed to evaluate. That said, the Law Commission has recently issued its report on burial. As part of the Government’s response, we are keen to engage with a range of interested parties, including local authorities, because we want to understand how best to assist them with local provision and management of burial capacity for the future.