Funerals market consultation
On 18 December 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report following a market investigation into the supply of funerals and related goods and services in the United Kingdom. It identified problems in the funerals sector and proposed a package of what it described as “sunlight remedies” to address them:
- A recommendation that the CMA actively monitor market outcomes in the funerals sector, publish an annual review of market outcomes in the sector and consider at the earliest opportunity when the impact and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the funerals sector were sufficiently understood and the sector was more stable, whether to consult on a future market investigation reference (MIR).
- A legally binding Funerals Market Investigation Order to support customers when choosing a funeral director or crematorium and to place the sector under greater public scrutiny.
- A recommendation to the UK Government and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales to establish in England, Northern Ireland and Wales an inspection and registration regime to monitor the quality of funeral director services as a first step in the establishment of a broader regulatory regime for funeral services in these nations.