Hansard

I am delighted to open the stage 3 debate on the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill. I thank the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, the Local Government and Regeneration Committee and the Health and Sport Committee for the rigour with which they each considered the bill.

The subject matter of the bill is not something that many of us are keen to think or talk about. Nonetheless, the bill addresses important matters. It is vital that burial and cremation processes are robust, consistent and fit for 21st century Scotland. Recent events—as well as evidence taken at stage 1—suggest that that has not always been the case. The bill makes important and much needed changes to the burial and cremation processes, and it will help to ensure that those processes are easy to understand, reliable and fit for purpose.

The existing legislation for burial and cremation is extremely old. The legislation for burial dates back to 1855 and current cremation legislation is from 1902, when cremation was a new and largely untested process. We have come a long way since then, but current legislation continues to reflect older and very different expectations about death and what should be done with human remains. As our attitudes change to death, the treatment of human remains and how we remember the dead, the current legislation is increasingly found wanting. It is right that we should put in place legislation that reflects modern Scotland and supports our expectations for the respect and dignity with which human remains should be treated. I believe that the bill will do that.

The bill’s passage has been marked by broad agreement about the need for new legislation and by support for the bill’s key provisions. Nonetheless, key areas of the bill have undoubtedly been strengthened by the parliamentary process. In particular, the provisions relating to stillborn babies and pregnancy loss have benefited greatly from the evidence given by various people at stage 1, and from the recommendations that were made by the Health and Sport Committee. Much of the bill is based on recommendations that were made by Lord Bonomy’s infant cremation commission. It is particularly important that the provisions of the bill address problems that have arisen in the past.

Some of those who gave evidence to the Health and Sport Committee were healthcare professionals, who drew on years of experience working with people who have suffered the devastation of losing a pregnancy or a baby. I am pleased that the bill reflects that collective experience.

Others who gave evidence had personally experienced such a loss and, in many instances, had also been affected directly by past failings in relation to the disposal of ashes. Indeed, many people whose losses were compounded by the torment of not knowing what had happened to their babies’ remains have been involved with the development of the bill as well as with other non-legislative work that has emerged from Lord Bonomy’s report. I thank them for their continued commitment to ensuring that such mistakes will not happen again.

At stage 2, a number of amendments were made to the processes that will apply in the case of a pre-24-week pregnancy loss or a stillbirth. Those will provide improved clarity and consistency while ensuring that women are not rushed into making decisions before they are ready. The woman who experiences the loss is rightly placed at the centre of the process, and at every step of the process she will have the opportunity to make decisions about what she wants to happen to the remains. Several of the amendments that I lodged today at stage 3 provide additional flexibility, ensuring that women have every opportunity to make a decision about what they wish to do.

An important point that emerged from stage 1 was the tension that exists between ensuring that a woman is able to make a decision in her own time and ensuring that remains can be buried or cremated when it becomes clear that the woman does not wish to make a decision. The bill initially set out a six-week period between a loss occurring and a decision being made about burial or cremation. Although it was always the intention that a hospital could go beyond that six-week deadline when a woman was still trying to decide what should happen to the remains, the bill was amended at stage 2 to provide a clearer route for that to happen. In developing provisions about pregnancy loss and stillbirth, we have ensured that the woman is always at the centre of the decision-making process. That extends to situations in which it is known in advance that a pregnancy will be lost or will result in a stillbirth. The hospital must ask the question, but the bill gives the health professionals the discretion to decide whether it is best to ask the woman before or after the loss occurs.

Other amendments were made to the bill at stage 2 to set out a clear process for what should be done with ashes. Those amendments will make sure that a cremation cannot be carried out unless the applicant has stated what he or she wishes to be done with the ashes. Cremation authorities are placed under a duty to carry out the applicant’s wishes. The bill sets out a clear process for cremation authorities and funeral directors about what should happen when ashes are not collected as agreed. Those are important steps that will provide consistency and clarity about what will be done with ashes.

There has also been considerable debate about the location of crematoriums in relation to housing. I am glad that the matter will now be left in local authorities’ hands and that those who make the planning decisions will decide on the locations. It is a matter that is sensibly placed with local authorities. As I said in speaking to my amendment about the separation distance, the Scottish Government will produce specific planning policy on the issue that will set out the issues that planning authorities should consider in assessing development proposals for crematoriums, which will include steps that can be taken to support a quiet environment. Such guidance will be included in the next revision of the Scottish planning policy. Guidance on separation distances between particular types of development and housing is already contained in the Scottish planning policy, and it is right that matters relating to crematoriums will also be set out there. That will ensure a consistent approach in the siting of crematoriums while leaving scope for appropriate local decisions to be made.

The bill will bring about important improvements to burial and cremation, creating a system that meets the needs of modern Scotland and prevents a repeat of previous mistakes. I hope that the Parliament will pass the bill at decision time.

I move,

That the Parliament agrees that the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill be passed.