Funeral Industry News

  • Funeral Director: Code of Practice Consultation Report

    9th February 2021 by

    In 2019 the Burial and Cremation Team at the Scottish Government carried out a consultation on the draft Funeral Director: Code of Practice. The Analysis Report of this consultation is now published here. We appreciate the time given by respondents to the consultation. The results of the analysis will help inform future revisions to the Code....

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  • Funeral Attendance During COVID-19

    8th February 2021 by

    Throughout the pandemic, there continues to be a risk of transmission of COVID-19 wherever families and communities come together following the death of a loved one. We understand that funerals are extremely important events and that is why funeral services are not caught by the general restrictions on gatherings. However, funerals are highly emotional and...

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  • COVID-19 Vaccination: Third and Independent Health and Social Care Frontline Workers

    29th January 2021 by

    Mr Paul Hawkins, Director for COVID-19 Vaccination Delivery in the Scottish Government has issued a letter providing the vaccination scheduling contact details for each Health Board in Scotland. You can read that letter here: JCVI Priority 2 Third and Independent HSC Staff Letter-28.01.2021 Self-assessment definitions are provided in Annex B. Our guidance for funeral directors...

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  • Access to COVID-19 Vaccination in Scotland

    22nd January 2021 by

    Mr Paul Hawkins, Director for COVID-19 Vaccination Delivery in the Scottish Government has issued an interim communication to all Third and Independent sector health and social care staff listed in the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) Priority Group 2, which includes frontline funeral operatives, mortuary technicians, and embalmers. JCVI Priority 2 Third and...

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  • Temporary Changes to the Death Certification Review Service

    18th January 2021 by

    The Death Certification Review Service (DCRS), run by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, checks on the accuracy of a sample of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs); also referred to as Form 11. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact on clinical services, the review of randomised MCCDs and Interested Person Reviews, were temporarily suspended...

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  • Funeral Director: Code of Practice – Opportunity to Participate in Focus Groups With Scottish Government

    13th January 2021 by

    In 2019 the Burial and Cremation Team at the Scottish Government carried out a consultation on their draft Funeral Director: Code of Practice. The Report of this consultation is currently being finalised for publication, having been delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We welcomed, and deeply appreciated, the responses received to the consultation....

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  • Stepping up the Scottish Government Key Worker Hub

    7th January 2021 by

    Part of the First Minister’s announcement of “lockdown measures”, is the use of remote learning until the end of January 2021, except in the case of vulnerable children and those of key workers. The Scottish Government has reinstated the keyworker mailbox and it is now live at keyworkers@gov.scot However the local authority should remain the...

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  • Main Guidance Documents Updated – Lockdown Changes 5 January 2021

    6th January 2021 by

    On Tuesday 5 January 2021, mainland Scotland moved from Level 4 to a temporary lockdown. In areas under lockdown, from the start of Friday 8 January, post-funeral gatherings such as wakes or funeral teas are not permitted. These new restrictions were announced by the First Minister on Monday 4 January 2021.  The First Minister’s statement is...

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  • Supplementary Form For Cremation Applications – Update

    5th January 2021 by

    We previously blogged about when to use the supplementary form for applications for cremation on 3 April and on 17 September.  From 5 January 2021 mainland Scotland has been moved from level 4 to a temporary lockdown which is likely to mean that it will again be more difficult for funeral directors and cremation authorities...

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  • Mainland Scotland in Lockdown

    4th January 2021 by

    The First Minister has today announced new ‘lockdown’ measures for all areas of Scotland currently in level 4 (all of mainland Scotland). Under these lockdown measures, funeral services may continue and in-person attendance at funeral services continues to be limited to a maximum of 20 people. Funeral-related commemorative events (e.g. scattering of ashes or stone...

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