he funeral profession in the UK is going
through
unprecedented
regulatory
and market change. Fresh from the
introduction
of
price
transparency
measures by the UK Government, through
the Competition and Markets Authority,
we are now seeing statutory regulation
and licensing introduced in Scotland by the
Scottish Government, through a recently
published Code of Practice.
The UK financial regulator, the Financial Conduct
Authority, has begun regulating pre-paid funeral
plans, while the funeral market is experiencing a shift
in consumer demands created by the cost of living
crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, including a rise
in demand for direct cremation. The inquiry into the
crimes of David Fuller is likely to bring further change.
With such a widely fragmented landscape, the
National Association of Funeral Directors, the UK’s
largest and most inclusive funeral sector trade body,
is perfectly placed to offer a broad and balanced
overview of the entire funerals market and suggest
a future direction of travel to ensure high standards
across the board.
Key to success is ensuring sector-wide quality
standards. The NAFD’s Code of Practice ensures
members achieve high standards and are quick to
respond if they fall short; however, there remains a
significant percentage of funeral firms that operate
without any kind of oversight. This creates an uneven
playing field, which adversely affects competition
and reputation, and where standards can suffer in
a potential “race to the bottom” where cost becomes
the key consideration.
Ultimately, we want to see all funeral homes in the
UK required to meet the same quality standards,
with clear and impactful sanctions applied should the
services provided not meet the expected standard,
including prevention from trading.
The benefits and limitations
of self-regulation
We believe that outcome-based regulatory models
create an open, fair, and accessible consumer
environment for standards, price, and service
transparency, and can generally be applied in
a resource efficient way, meeting standards
thresholds and reassuring the public without the
disproportionate impact on costs of service.
The NAFD’s Funeral Director Code, which all members
must abide by, is based on outcomes and governed
by broad principles of behaviour and activity, which
members must always consider when faced with
TOWARDS
CONSISTENT
OVERSIGHT OF
STANDARDS
IN THE UK FUNERALS MARKET
By Andrew Judd, Chief Executive Officer,
National Association of Funeral Directors, UK
Key to success is ensuring
sector-wide quality standards.
12
No. 105 – SPRING 2024 | THANOS MAGAZINE
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