Meeting of the Parliament 22 March 2016
I would like to start in the same way as the minister by thanking the Health and Sport Committee, the Local Government and Regeneration Committee and the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee for their careful and scrupulous consideration of the bill over the past few weeks and months.
As the minister said, this is an extremely important bill. It addresses crucial issues around death with dignity and the importance of ensuring that all our loved ones and all our citizens have a dignified death and burial or cremation, that families are able to afford to give their loved one that dignity and that the appropriate arrangements are in place by statute to enable that.
The bill’s passage in the last days of this parliamentary session has given me time to reflect on some of the representations that I have had over the past five years. Constituents have come to my surgery with issues and difficulties to do with death, burial and cremation. I am sure that many other members share that experience. Therefore, I very much welcome the improved arrangements that the minister outlined for how we deal with death and burial and cremation in Scotland today.
I will explore a few of the issues that we discussed at stage 3, because the bill has been a good example of legislation evolving through the stages of the parliamentary process. The most sensitive issue—and probably by far the most important one—that the bill has dealt with has been women’s decisions on what happens to the remains of their unborn children following stillbirth, pregnancy loss or termination. The Scottish Labour Party very much welcomes the Government’s amendments today. The minister has made great improvements on the clarity of the process for the families and the health bodies.
Malcolm Chisholm’s amendments identified a potential loophole, but it was good that the minister was able to confirm that the intention of her amendments was to do with timing, and Parliament was in complete agreement that the bill is putting in place the correct and most appropriate and sensitive arrangements. That is to be very much welcomed.
On the issue of exclusion zones, I briefly argued at stage 1 that such decisions should rest with the local planning process, which is the decision that the Government has taken today. However, at stages 2 and 3 we were persuaded by the arguments for the amendments to provide that no residential property should be constructed within 200m of any crematorium. The evidence was strong on both sides of the argument. Although we took the position that I have outlined, it is good that we have come to an overall position on the matter today.
My colleague Lesley Brennan has raised persuasive issues on funeral poverty since she came to the Parliament. Lesley Brennan and I, as well as other members, are very aware of the funeral poverty issues in some of our more deprived communities, where people’s experience is that they simply cannot afford to bury their loved ones. I think that I said at stage 1 that it is a hallmark of a civilised society that there are arrangements in place that allow everyone to have a dignified funeral, whether that be a burial or a cremation. That some families in the country simply cannot afford the costs is an issue that the next Parliament will need to look at seriously.
I am glad that the powers over funeral payments are being devolved, and that the Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport has commissioned a report on funeral poverty. If I am returned to the Parliament, I certainly intend to work on the matter and follow it closely to ensure that we make strides on it. I commend the work of citizens advice bureaux on the issue. They have highlighted very starkly the issues of funeral poverty across the country. It was good that the Government was today able to accept Lesley Brennan’s amendment on funeral costs. As she said, this is just the start of the important process of trying to eradicate funeral poverty in Scotland.
Nigel Don, as convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee, was left to deal with some of the intricacies of the bill. Like him, I would prefer arrangements for a licensing scheme for funeral directors to be set out in primary legislation rather than left to regulation. Such an approach would make for clearer and better law. However, I am glad that the affirmative procedure will help the next Parliament to scrutinise the development of a licensing scheme. For reasons that I have set out, and given the issues to do with funeral poverty, such scrutiny will be important. We will follow the issue intensely in the next session of the Parliament.