Papers & Speakers

Since 2019 medical examiner scrutiny of non-coronial deaths in England and Wales has incrementally increased, and has now reached approximately 70% of all deaths scrutinized during the quarter of January 2023-April 2023. As we now near the transition point from a non-statutory to a statutory system this talk will update on the interdependencies between the various groups who work together to deliver care of the deceased and bereaved people, and on the next steps which are expected in coming months.

This system will ensure that every death is scrutinized by either a medical examiner or Coroner, and that bereaved are able to raise concerns, and ensuring any issues with care are identified promptly. This in turn will enable improvements in services and consequently patient care as a whole. The DHSC has confirmed that the system will become statutory from April 2024, with legislation being enacted in the autumn of 2023 to enable this transition.

Dr Hemsley also works as an ME in Portsmouth, and has personally scrutinized over 1000 deaths since 2019, including during the Covid 19 pandemic. She maintains her skills in Geriatric medicine, working clinically at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. She has a specialist interest in Parkinson’s disease.

The once quiet funeral sector seems to be changing fast and bereaved families now have more choice than ever. Increased competition should lead to innovation which should ultimately improve the experience for bereaved families. But what to change and where to invest? And what lessons can be learned from other countries?

Following on from the success of his 2022 ICCM talk on the excellent crematoria of Australia, James explores some of the cultures and innovations of funeral venues from elsewhere around the world, and how they might help improve family experience in the UK.

This presentation will provide an update on the funeral industry in Scotland with particular reference to the progress on implementation of those parts of the Burial and Cremation Act 2016, relating to the Funeral Directors Code of Practice and the Licensing of Funeral Directors.

It will also provide an overview on crematoria in Scotland with a number of examples on practical issues experienced and dealt with by the Inspector.

During his long career he served at Lockerbie in 1988 on body recovery, and following the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 he was Senior Investigating Officer for UK Police and deployed to Thailand.

Following his retirement In March 2015 he was appointed Inspector of Crematoria for Scotland, and in 2020 the role was extended to his current position.

A review of changing trends in crematorium design. Specifically exploring cultural and experiential developments of wake and function facilities, size and scale of spaces and facilities provision and the importance of sustainability in building design.

When Benchmark Architects first got involved in crematorium design, we undertook some research to determine the average statistics from existing crematorium data across the UK. We use this data and emerging client briefing data to inform design developments. We also recently undertook a study tour of crematoriums across Holland to gather wider experience of different design approaches.

Findings on current existing crematorium stock in the UK and design development and trends across UK and European projects will be presented.

Mark is currently chairman of the BAA which is a local branch of the RIBA. He is also a trustee of a small charity providing a summer children’s holiday camp.

Kate Davidson is the Chief Executive Officer of Dignity Plc. With over 15 years’ experience in the funeral and crematoria industry, Kate began her career in the crematoria sector within Local Government, later joining Dignity in management and strategic roles spanning eight years. In 2019, Kate joined crematoria and cemetery operator Westerleigh Group as Commercial and Operations Director, but her passion for Dignity and its people drew her back to the business in 2021. Kate holds an Executive MBA from Warwick Business School, is a Member of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities, and the Burial and Cremation Law tutor for the Institute of Cemetery & Crematorium Management. Recently, Kate was honoured to be awarded an MBE in the 2022 New Years Honours for services to bereaved people during covid-19.

In December 2022 the Law Commission announced the commencement of a law reform project which seeks to create a modern and future-proof legal framework for the law governing how we dispose of the bodies of our loved ones. The project is expected to include a review of the laws governing burial and cremation, as well as providing a regulatory framework for safe and dignified new funerary methods. It is also expected to consider the legal status of a person’s own wishes about what happens to their body following their death, as well as the rules governing who else has the right to make decisions where no such wishes have been made.

This presentation will provide an update of progress on the initial scoping phrase of the project, consider the range of issues that have been identified as in need of reform and discuss the next stages of the project.

Professor Nick Hopkins is Law Commissioner for England and Wales for property and family law. He was appointed Commissioner in 2015, and reappointed in 2020. Prior to his appointment he was a legal academic for over 20 years, and he holds a Chair in Law at Reading University. As Commissioner he has led a range of projects, including on weddings law and surrogacy. In addition to leading the Commission’s work on disposal of the dead, his current projects include a review of the law on making a will.

This presentation will look at the history and current situation relating to the reuse of graves to ensure that burial remains an affordable, local option.

Julie started her professional life as an archaeologist, where she developed a particular interest in Victorian cemeteries. As a result, in the early 1990s, Julie was asked to work on a research project at the University of York, looking at policies for disused burial grounds. During this research, Julie met many cemetery and crematorium managers who inspired her to change professions. Julie worked in Cardiff, Lewisham and Bournemouth bereavement services before joining the ICCM in 2008. Julie was appointed as Chief Executive in 2018, and now heads up the ICCM Team of dedicated and hardworking officers whose aim is to improve the provision of bereavement services through training, education, best-practice guidance and consultancies.

This paper describes the results of a Cremation Society funded survey of crematorium staff and their work over the Covid-19 Crisis conducted through the Centre for Death and Life Studies at Durham University by its Director, Prof Douglas Davies FBA, with research assistance from Georgina Robinson MA (soon to complete her PhD at the Centre). It highlights the extreme effort of crematorium staff, how the ordinary work of crematoria as the foundation of British funeral provision was intensified, and how their endeavour now needs the recognition it deserves. The paper reflects on reasons why there was no ‘clapping for cremation services’ as there was for the NHS at large, and why, perhaps, such public behaviour would have been impossible under the circumstances of public loss. It does not ignore the work of Funeral Directors and other related people who also served the UK under circumstances of duress.

Douglas Davies, Professor in the Study of Religion and Director of The Centre for Death - Life Studies at Durham University, has published many books on traditional and natural burial, cremation, and the theology of death. He edited the Encyclopedia of Cremation (2005), and published Mors Britannica, Lifestyle and Death-Style in Britain Today (2015), with his most recent book being Worldview Religious Studies (2022). He is internationally known as an expert on Mormonism, and is a Doctor of Letters of Oxford University, an Honorary Doctor of Theology from Sweden's Uppsala University, and a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales, the UK Academy of Social Sciences, and of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's prestigious national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

ESG – Environment, Social, Governance – is the mantra of our time. But how to get to grips with applying ESG to your organisation?

Horizon Cremation is trying to do just that. They have measured emissions, considered how they interact with local communities and embraced a raft of new policies. The process is described in the company’s first ESG Report.

A key realisation is just how hard it will be to get to net zero carbon. We may be able to get to grips with the carbon emitted during the cremation process, but what about the embedded carbon in new buildings, the emissions involved in memorial products and the plastics used in funeral floral displays?

Stephen Byfield, a founder and Director of Horizon draws some lessons from the company’s ESG process to date.

Stephen Byfield is a founder and Director of Horizon Cremation. After a career in consultancy, he founded Horizon with Jeremy Hamilton in 2017. The company now has three crematoria with others planned.

We have been removing pacemakers prior to cremation for around 40 years. The number of pacemaker implants has increased in the last 12 years by 25%, in line with the ageing population. The number being implanted in the UK each year is approximately 25,000. In addition, there is a range of new battery operated implants coming to market. The current system is far from perfect. Are we expected to continue with it for another 40 years or is there another way forward?

Brendan holds a Public Service MBA from Birmingham University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management.

With the ever-increasing pressure of various net zero commitments, declarations of climate emergencies, and changing environmental conditions do we fully understand the implications of climate change? How do we react to the ever-changing technologies using them to meet the needs of a newer more environmentally aware customers and what happens if we continue on our current trajectory?

There is a misconception that electric cremators are a recent innovation, yet they have been operating in the UK for decades. This presentation will take you through the entire journey from what were truly the first UK installations, their locations and some of the industry characters who pioneered electric cremation. Many of these manufacturers and pioneers are largely forgotten today. We will attempt to bring them back into the minds of the current industry representatives.

The paper will also look at the cycles of interest and popularity that electric cremation has gone through and the issues that have needed to be overcome, and consider the patterns of the past and whether, in this current cycle of interest, is electric cremation here to stay?

The company has provided consultancy on over 20 new build crematoria and assisted over 100 crematoria with emergency cover.

Lee is a tutor in “Legal and practical management of cemeteries” and a regular speaker at industry events.

This presentation will share research findings from the ‘Faith in Funerals’ project, funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust, which is exploring the fusion of religious, spiritual and/or non-religious content in funeral ceremonies led by independent professional celebrants. As most funerals are undertaken by independent celebrants, a more nuanced understanding is required as to the needs, desires and expectations of the large numbers of people who do not opt for strictly religious or secular funerals for their loved ones. To date, funerals conducted by independent celebrants fall into statistics created about the proportions of secular or non-religious funerals. The reality is far more complex than such statistics suggest and they misrepresent the engagement with religion, belief and spirituality by people planning these funerals for their loved ones.

NAFD Past President and advisor to Child Bereavement UK, John Adams will talk through his mission to see conversations around the feelings that we can go through when we lose a loved one. He will discuss who this will help, how it will be done, the steps forward with Parliament to push this through and why he believes we all have a responsibility to try and make society a kinder and more positive place.

John's advocacy work has been recognized at both the national and local levels, and he continues to be a strong advocate for the importance of grief education. He remains committed to improving the relationship between individuals and death and is a true champion for compassionate and thoughtful end-of-life care.