NAFD attends inaugural meeting of Northern Ireland’s parliamentary funeral group
Representatives from the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) travelled to Stormont on April 28 for the inaugural meeting of the newly formed All Party Assembly Group on Funerals and Bereavement in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The Group is chaired by David McClarty MLA, Deputy Speaker in the Assembly and one of two Ulster Unionist Members representing East Londonderry. He also sits on Coleraine Borough Council.
Joining Mr McClarty for the meeting were Stephen Moutray MLA, Member for Upper Bann in the Assembly; David Simpson MP MLA, Vice-President of the Democratic Unionist Party and Member for the Upper Bann constituency in both the Assembly and the UK Parliament and the Rev William McCrea MP MLA, Member for South Antrim in the Assembly and at Westminster.
After thanking the NAFD for its assistance in establishing the Group, David McClarty MLA and his colleagues went on to examine a number of issues, including Cremation Regulations in Northern Ireland and how they compare to the new regulations introduced in England and Wales on 1 January 2009 and the impact that local authority re-organisation in Northern Ireland will have on the availability of burial grounds.
They also discussed the problems faced by the bereaved in the Province due to the inadequacy of funeral payments from the Social Fund; reform of the Coroners’ system in England and Wales and what is needed in Northern Ireland and retained ashes held at funeral directors’ premises, specifically whether the proposed solution put to the Scottish Parliament by the cross party funerals group in Scotland would be suitable for Northern Ireland.
The Assembly Members also considered the way in which memorial safety is viewed in the Province, an issue which is particularly relevant in light of the Ministry of Justice’s decision to issue guidance to burial grounds in England.
It has taken a while to reach this point, but when it comes to the issues affecting funeral directors and bereaved families in Northern Ireland we are now in a strong position to influence the debate at the very highest level, said NAFD chief executive officer Alan Slater.
The session went well, with some very productive discussion on the key issues affecting the profession right now and we look forward to the next meeting of the All Party Assembly Group on Funerals and Bereavement in the Northern Ireland Assembly on June 23.