When Neil and I started planning and working towards opening Ivor Thomas Funerals in 2018, it took us aback how easy it was to open a funeral home. Don’t get me wrong, we were in some ways very glad as starting any business and learning the ropes of business administration is difficult, so the lack of regulation made things that little bit easier.
However, the more we’ve grown as a company, the more I’ve realised how easy it is to be a cowboy and the more disturbing the stories that I’ve heard have become. Just look at some of the news stories in the past 12 months: Legacy Funeral Directors in Hull, Elkin and Bell Funerals in Gosport and Amie Upton in Leeds.
We had a choice whether or not to join The National Society of Allied & Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF), but we decided to as it was the right thing to do. We didn’t need to be inspected, have our paperwork and processes examined but we wanted to make sure that we did things right. Thankfully we only had to make minor adjustments, but I believe it’s because we said from the start that we want to treat everyone who comes through our door as if they were a member of a family. The simple idea of treating a loved one in the same way we would want ours to be looked after.
For those who don’t keep up to date with funeral industry news, there is regulation in Scotland. In England and Wales, Phase 2 of the Fuller Inquiry looked at the industry and it looks like proposals are now being brought forward by the Government to regulate the profession.
I am extremely interested in seeing the details as whilst I both personally and professionally I welcome regulation, I at the same time don’t want families who wish to do a “DIY” funeral or groups who wish to keep the funerals within their community for religious or other reasons to lose out.
I believe that regulation is needed and overdue, and an important step in reducing the risk to families form unethical companies and individuals.