Inspector of Burial, Cremation and Funeral Directors: annual report 2025 to 2026

Conclusion

24. The past year has seen significant progress in the implementation of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016, as referred to earlier, with the most recent being the recruitment of three additional Inspectors.

25. These appointments have been welcomed by all and will provide the opportunity to greatly increase the number of inspections, whilst also addressing the increase in self-referrals (referred to earlier) from funeral directors, as well as responding to complaints/ enquiries from members of the public.

26. Two other parts of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 currently under consideration to be implemented are the licensing of funeral directors and exhumation regulations.

27. National Records of Scotland shows there to be a slight decrease in the number of deaths in Scotland in 2025 (61,725 down from 62,291 in 2024.

28. Of note, which is a similar decrease recorded in 2024 (62,291 down from 63,445 in 2023).

29. Whilst capacity at all stages has not been a major issue, there have been a number of occasions, usually following the weekend, when hospital mortuaries have reached near maximum capacity.

30. The Senior Inspector has held a number of meetings with Mortuary Managers, and members of the funeral director trade associations, in order to improve the timescale of collection of deceased, once cleared for release, to be brought into the care of the funeral director.

31. Overall, the Senior Inspector considers the funeral industry in Scotland to be performing to a good standard and well placed to continue to service the needs of the general public.

32. That said, as the list of complaints and enquires referred to earlier in this report shows, there is clearly room for improvement, particularly from what the Senior Inspector considers to be a small minority within the sector.

33. With the appointment of three additional Inspectors there will be scope in the coming year to better address these concerns.

34. Annex A to this report provides a resume of progress in respect of regulation of the funeral sector in Scotland from 2015 to the present.

35. In closing the Senior Inspector would like to record his appreciation and thanks for the assistance and co-operation afforded to him throughout the period of this report.

Respectfully submitted

Robert Swanson QPM

Senior Inspector of Burial, Cremation, Hydrolysis and Funeral Directors.

14^th May 2026