Hansard

There has been a general welcome for the Scottish Government’s intention in the bill to

“create legislation which is fit for twenty-first century Scotland”,

because much of the law governing burial and cremation dates back well over 100 years and is increasingly unfit for purpose in today's society.

As we know, the Health and Sport Committee, as the lead committee for the bill, focused on the bill’s proposals for the burial and cremation of babies, foetuses and early products of conception. It will be appreciated that this is a very sensitive area, particularly in light of the major emotional trauma suffered by many parents who a few years ago became aware that they were unable to trace what had happened to the remains of their offspring after cremation. Those people, who are still very much affected by what happened, are concerned to ensure that the same does not happen to parents in future.

Being very mindful of how people felt, we did our best to take evidence as sensitively as we could. To that end, we received some evidence anonymously via email and telephone, and we had a very worthwhile private meeting with a number of bereaved parents, who contributed significantly to our understanding of the issues to be considered. The committee clerks were very sensitive in their approach to witnesses, and I, too, want to thank them for their painstaking work on the bill. I also thank all the witnesses, particularly those who were personally affected.

In my opening speech, I will focus on the burial and cremation issues that are dealt with in the Health and Sport Committee’s stage 1 report, while in my closing speech I will take a broader look at the bill. Although Scottish Conservatives will support the bill at stage 1, we have a number of concerns that I hope will be resolved by amendment at stage 2. In saying that, I appreciate the minister’s intention to lodge several significant amendments at that time.

The discovery in 2012 that cremation authorities in Scotland had different practices for the recovery of ashes from the cremation of babies, and the severe distress that that discovery caused bereaved parents, led, as we know, to Dame Elish Angiolini’s report on practice at Mortonhall crematorium and the establishment of the infant cremation commission chaired by Lord Bonomy, which examined the policies, practices and legislation related to the cremation of babies in Scotland and which reported its findings in 2014.

As Jenny Marra said, the commission made 64 recommendations, including on the appointment of an inspector of crematoria. It is expected that the bill will complete 25 of the commission’s recommendations, the majority of which are focused on providing a more constant and robust process for applying for the cremation of babies, foetuses and pregnancy loss.

A voluntary code of practice on baby and infant cremations was published last December, and the bill will make the code binding on relevant authorities in the funeral industry.

A key part of the bill is the definition of “cremation”; in particular, a definition of “ashes” will be key in order to establish a clear, unambiguous understanding of what is meant by the term. Lord Bonomy recommended that it should mean

“all that is left in the cremator at the end of the cremation process and following the removal of any metal”,

and the bill defines the term within the context of Lord Bonomy’s definition.

It is now expected that ashes will be recovered in most circumstances following infant cremation; if not, that will be investigated by the inspector of crematoria.

The historical practice by some cremation authorities of disposing of ashes without the knowledge or consent of bereaved parents has had a devastating and long-lasting impact. It is such an important and sensitive issue that the committees looking at the bill think it crucial that the Government’s policy on that should be set out clearly on the face of the bill, and that any aspect of the policy that is subject to subordinate legislation should be subject to the Parliament’s affirmative procedure. The Government’s commitment to amend the bill to that effect is welcome.

I do not have time to go into detail on all the other provisions of the bill, but I will touch on one or two. In relation to the disposal of pregnancy loss, it is clear that there needs to be a more sensitive and systematic approach across Scotland, treating the mother with dignity and understanding, and setting out clearly to her the various options available, as well as giving her time to come to terms with her loss. Likewise, with stillbirth and neonatal death, there is a real need for better engagement with bereaved parents, support in making arrangements for burial or cremation, and help with form filling at a time of distress and high emotion.

Application forms for burial and cremation need to be clear, sensitive and easy to understand if bereaved parents are to be expected to complete them. The development of statutory application forms is welcome, although I appreciate that there are some differences of opinion regarding the detail that are yet to be sorted out.

As I have tried to indicate, there are very real sensitivities around the issues that were discussed by the Health and Sport Committee in relation to the disposal of the remains of babies, foetuses and early products of conception. The bill goes some way towards ensuring that past bad practice will not recur, although it will need to be refined as it goes through the next stages of the Parliamentary process. I look forward to the minister’s stage 2 amendments.

I will finish at this point because, as I said at the outset, I will deal with some other aspects of the bill in my closing speech.