Funeral Industry News

  • COVID-19: Advice Card for Workplaces

    15th March 2021 by

    COVID-19 advice cards for workplaces are available here and can be downloaded, printed and displayed for staff and visitors to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in your workplace. Part A is for managers and supervisors so they know what is expected of them. Part B is for all workers and visitors and should...

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  • First Minister Announces Intention to Reopen Places of Worship But Attendance At Funeral Services Remains At 20 People

    9th March 2021 by

    In her statement to Parliament today (9 March 2021), the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to reopen places of worship for communal worship on Friday 26 March. A final decision on this will be taken on Tuesday 23 March and the full details of the announcement can be found here . This announcement...

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  • Coronavirus (COVID-19): Compliance Self-assessment Tool

    26th February 2021 by

    On 25 February 2021 the Scottish Government made available the Coronavirus (COVID-19): compliance self-assessment tool.  The tool is intended to assist workplaces to assess what measures they should have in place to ensure they are minimising the risk of transmission of the virus.  For businesses which are continuing to operate during the lockdown, such as...

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  • 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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