Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what controls exist to protect graves of historical significance from mounding in (1) private, and (2) public, burial grounds.

The management and maintenance of local authority burial grounds is subject to a comprehensive framework of regulation and guidance, and we anticipate that those operating private burial grounds (many of which are, in any event, regulated by bespoke legislation) will apply the same standards and principles.

Graves and monuments of historical significance can be listed in the National Heritage List for England or scheduled in accordance with the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. Any changes to listed or scheduled monuments or graves require consent from the Historic England.

The Law Commission’s forthcoming Programme of Law Reform includes a project to consider modernising and streamlining the law governing the disposal of human remains, with a view to putting forward a legal framework for the future.