252.Part 5 deals with provisions relating to funeral directors.
253.Section 94(1) gives the Scottish Ministers the power to create a licensing scheme covering the operation of funeral directors’ businesses. Subsection (2) provides that a person may not carry on a business as a funeral director unless they hold a licence issued under the scheme in relation to the business. Subsection (3) provides that a person who carries on more than one business as a funeral director must hold a separate licence for each business.
254.Section 95(1) allows the Scottish Ministers to make regulations in respect of how a licensing scheme referred to in section 94(1) will operate. Subsection (2) sets out what the regulations may contain. This includes: the licence conditions which may apply under regulations; who will administer the scheme; the application procedure; the circumstances under which an application may be refused or granted; for what period the licence may be granted; provisions for suspension or revocation of licences; and any conditions that may be applied, such as the fees that may be payable and provision about appeals against certain decisions of the licensing authority.
255.Subsection (1) provides that a person who knowingly carries on a business as a funeral director without a licence commits an offence. Subsection (2) sets out the circumstances in which a person will be considered not to hold a licence. These are that no licence has been issued and that a licence has been issued but has expired without being renewed, or has been suspended or revoked. Subsection (3) provides that a person will also commit an offence if they knowingly or recklessly provide materially false or misleading information in, or in connection with, an application for a licence. By virtue of subsection (4), a person who is convicted of committing an offence under this section will be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
256.Subsection (1) provides that a funeral director must comply with any new or revised codes of practice issued by Scottish Ministers in relation to the carrying out of a funeral director’s functions.
257.Under subsection (2), the Scottish Ministers will be required to consult with funeral directors and any other relevant parties before issuing a funeral director’s code or revising an existing code.
258.Subsection (3) requires the Scottish Ministers to lay a draft of the funeral director’s code before the Scottish Parliament, after taking account of any representations made by virtue of subsection (2). A funeral director’s code may not be issued until it has been approved by a resolution of the Scottish Parliament. Subsection (5) requires the Scottish Ministers to publish such a code in such manner as they consider appropriate, and subsection (6) requires the Scottish Ministers to keep any code of practice under review. Subsection (7) provides that references to a funeral director’s code also include references to a revised code.