NAFD seizes the chance to lobby new Ministers
When Gordon Brown reshuffled his team after taking office as Prime Minister this summer, the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) wasted no time in seeking consultation with key Ministers on issues that are of concern to the funeral profession.
Through the All Party Parliamentary Funerals and Bereavement Group contact has been made with Gareth R Thomas MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the new Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Mr Thomas has responsibility for consumer affairs and the Group’s chairman, Bill Olner MP, has written to him regarding proposed changes to the doorstep selling regulations.
Having been in contact with Tony McNulty MP, Minister of State at the Home Office, on the subject of Pandemic Flu, Mr Olner has now written to the Rt. Hon. Dawn Pimarolo MP. She is set to take the lead on this issue after moving from HM Treasury to the Department of Health as Minister of State for Public Health.
Further reform of the Social Fund Payments system is one of the NAFD’s priorities. While Mr Olner has an ongoing dialogue with James Plaskitt MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions, he has again been in contact with the Bishop of Gibraltar, who is chairman of the Churches Funeral Group, to enlist his support on this issue.
“We have been following the summer’s political developments with great interest,” says NAFD chief executive officer Alan Slater.
“A General Election would have resulted in a further reshuffle, so Gordon Brown’s decision not to go to the country means the All Party Parliamentary Funerals and Bereavement Group can continue to develop its excellent relationships and solicit the support of the new Ministers.
“We are delighted that Bill Olner MP is staying on as chairman of the Group and he is taking the lead by requesting early meetings with his colleagues on a range of issues that impact on the funeral sector.”
Meanwhile, the NAFD has sent detailed submissions to two important Government consultation papers on behalf of the profession.
A response to Cremation Regulations Consolidation and Modernisation went to Bridget Prentice MP, the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice who has responsibility for coroners, burials and cremation, while funeral directors’ views on death certification were provided to Ben Bradshaw MP, the Department of Health’s new Minister of State for Health Services. Mr Bradshaw’s decision to consult on Improving the Process of Death Certification was one of his first acts after taking up his new office.
