03/04/2026
Regulation in the Funeral Profession
With the events taking place this week down in Hull, with the owner of Legacy Independent Funeral Directors admitting in court to 30 counts of preventing lawful burial and one count of theft. The discussion of should Funeral Directors be regulated and in what form should this take. There is no disputing Funeral Directors should be regulated and should have been done long ago. Wither Funeral Directors choose to be part of a trade body such as the NAFD or SAIF and if these bodies even represent any protection for the public. These trade bodies offer very little protection, as they are effectively Funeral Directors policing Funeral Directors. Some have their initial inspection and no further inspection until an issue arises. The problem is that the Funeral Profession lives in the past, with statements like we have always done things this way still being heard, and Funeral Directors not wishing to change from past traditions. Things have moved on, the cost of a funeral has increased, the amount of Funeral Directors across the country have increased and what families expect have become more personalised but more demanding on the Funeral Director.
In Scotland Funeral Directors have been regulated since 1st March 2025, at Easton Funeral Directors we were licenced from day one, but others are just registering now. Though the licencing offers some protection, every Funeral Director was issued a Licence for an initial three years without any inspection meaning how many Funeral Directors in Scotland operate like the events in Hull. The inspectors do not currently know how many Funeral Directors operate in each area and who they are, so how can you inspect them. If the understanding was that most Funeral Directors who were part of a trade body and should have been inspected, then as we have already said is not the case. Some Funeral Directors will not have been inspected since they joined the trade body or never inspected at all.
The regulation is a start, a framework to be developed, but only if Funeral Directors are inspected and held to account if breaches of regulations take place.
Regulation is only one piece of the puzzle of protection for the public. We are trusted with the care of peoples loved ones, we are tasked at times with personal care of the person who has died, being in rooms in peoples houses without a family member being present. This is a sacred trust placed on us as Funeral Directors and for most this is honoured with the utmost Professionalism. Is this enough? Funeral Directors should be PVG or DBS checked so we can offer the transparency and the same protection to the public as the trust they show in us.
Funeral Directors should also be qualified to a National professional level wide qualification, such as the bank of qualifications provided by the British Institute of Funeral Directors or at lest the qualifications provided by the National Association of Funeral Directors. Some Funeral Directors claim to have industry wide qualifications. First of all, we are not an industry, we are a profession and secondly a lot of these qualifications are only valid in the company in which the person is employed and of no value when they leave.
To have real protection, we need regulation, inspection and enforcement. Funeral Directors must be PVG or DBS checked to be licenced and must be educated to a recognised professional Funeral Director qualification.
