The NAFD welcomes the start of Phase 2 of the Fuller Inquiry into the crimes of hospital electrician David Fuller. As the sector’s largest voluntary regulator in the UK, which inspects more than 4,000 funeral homes, we have long been concerned about the lack of oversight of funeral businesses and other organisations which look after or transport deceased people but currently have no scrutiny of standards of care.
For this reason, the NAFD particularly welcomes the inquiry’s focus on the care of deceased people by direct cremation firms, as well as in local community funeral homes, and hopes this will increase public awareness and understanding.
The NAFD has contributed to the Inquiry in the scoping stage and expects to give evidence during Phase 2, as well as encouraging our members to provide evidence from their own businesses and experience. Our evidence will likely focus on our quality assurance framework, the work of the Independent Funeral Standards Organisation, developments in terms of education and Continuous Professional Development, and the principles of the NAFD Funeral Director Code.
Throughout our representations, we have stressed that NAFD members adhere to a set of standards upon which any future oversight recommendations should be based. Those standards are inclusive and can be met by a wide variety of different business types and size. The diversity of the funeral sector is important and, in our experience, benefits consumers greatly. Any future regulatory measures should respect and reflect the importance of diversity and should not be disproportionately burdensome to any groups, or group, of providers.