Coronavirus Act 2020

21 Modifications of requirements regarding medical certificates for cremations: Northern Ireland

(1) The Cremation (Belfast) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1961 (S.R. & O. (N.I.) 1961 No. 61) have effect with the following modifications.

(2) Regulation 10 (conditions to be met for cremations) has effect as if for paragraph (a) there were substituted—

“(a) a certificate in Form B in the Schedule has been given by a registered medical practitioner who can certify definitely as to the cause of death; or”.

(3) Regulation 12 (Medical Referee’s power to give certificates in Forms C and D) has effect as if the words “if he has personally investigated the cause of death to give a certificate in Form C, and” were omitted.

(4) In regulation 13 (duties of the Medical Referee)—

(a) paragraph (e) has effect as if the reference to “the medical certificates” did not include the confirmatory medical certificate (Form C);

(b) paragraph (f) has effect as if—

(i) the words “for which he had been seen and treated by a registered medical practitioner within twenty-eight days prior to his death” were omitted;

(ii) the reference to “the certificates” did not include the confirmatory medical certificate (Form C).

(5) Form A in the Schedule (application for cremation) has effect as if, at question 8(e), the words “for which he or she had been seen and treated by a registered medical practitioner within twenty-eight days prior to death” were omitted.

(6) Form B in the Schedule (certificate by registered medical practitioner) has effect as if—

(a) in the paragraph above question 1, the words “attended the deceased during his or her last illness and within twenty-eight days before death, and” were omitted;

(b) in question 7, at the beginning there were inserted “If you saw the deceased alive,”;

(c) in question 16(e), the words “for which he or she had been seen and treated by a registered medical practitioner within twenty-eight days prior to death” were omitted;

(d) in the certification after question 20, the words “for which he had been seen and treated by me within twenty-eight days prior to death” were omitted;

(e) in the Note at the end, for “the medical practitioner who is to give the confirmatory medical certificate on Form C” there were substituted “the Medical Referee”.

(7) At the end of a period for which this section has effect, it continues to apply in relation to the cremation of the remains of a person who died during that period but whose remains have not been cremated unless, at the end of that period, a certificate in Form B in the Schedule to the Cremation (Belfast) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1961 has not been completed in relation to the deceased person for the purposes of regulation 10(a) of those Regulations.