Keighley MP Robbie Moore has brought the concerns of a local funeral directors to Parliament this week amid growing calls to regulate the funeral sector.
Speaking in Parliament in a debate organised by North Dorset MP Simon Hoare, Mr Moore highlighted concerns raised by Sam Gallagher, Director at Gallagher Family Funeral Directors in Keighley, who has campaigned for mandatory regulation of funeral directors to protect families and ensure dignity for the deceased.
Mr Moore said that “most people would be appalled to learn that anyone can currently set up and run a funeral directors’ service without any formal regulation or oversight from Government.”
An independent inquiry was set up in the wake of the conviction of necrophiliac killer David Fuller in 2022.
Further calls for change were made in response to a major police investigation into Legacy Independent Funeral Directors in Hull in 2024.
In response to parliamentary pressure, Health Minister Dr Zubir Ahmed confirmed that the Government will provide an interim update on new plans to regulate the funeral sector “before the end of the year,” with a full response due in 2026, adding that “multiple trade bodies are willing to step up and work with the Government to find a workable framework that meets the needs of the mid-21st century, not the mid-19th.”
Local funeral director Sam Gallagher - whose family-run Keighley business is a member of both the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the Society of Allied Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) - wrote to Mr Moore last year, warning the public about rogue operators in the industry.
He wrote: “I strongly believe it is now critical more than ever to ensure all funeral homes are held to the same high standards expected of National Association of Funeral Directors and Society of Allied Independent Funeral Directors members. And responsibility for this should not be borne alone by trade associations, but underpinned by Government”
Following the debate, Robbie Moore MP said:
“The recent scandals in Hull and elsewhere have shaken public confidence in the funeral industry. Most people don’t even realise that anyone can legally open a funeral business with zero oversight and families deserve to know that their loved ones are in safe hands.
“We are lucky to have brilliant local funeral directors like Gallagher’s who provide the highest standards of professionalism and compassion - and I'd like to thank Sam and the team for leading the fight for change.
There is a clear need for proper regulation and I will be writing to the Health Minister to urge the Government to bring forward legislation as a matter of urgency.”
