Regulation of alkaline hydrolysis (‘water cremation’) in Scotland
Feedback updated 6 Sep 2024
We asked
We sought views on the proposals to regulate alkaline hydrolysis as a method of disposal of human remains in Scotland. The consultation opened on 25 August and closed on 17 November 2023.
You said
There were 64 responses to the consultation. These included 24 from organisations, and 40 from individuals.
Respondents were generally supportive of:
- The introduction of regulation to allow alkaline hydrolysis to be made available in Scotland.
- Regulation of alkaline hydrolysis to follow a similar approach to that already in place for cremation, including the inspection of operators and requirements for handling human remains.
- Application processes to be in line with those used in cremation with similar statutory application forms to be provided.
The consultation analysis report has been published on the Scottish Government website, along with the individual responses (where permission was granted).
We did
The Scottish Government will now consider the proposals for regulating alkaline hydrolysis in light of the consultation findings and will continue to engage with the funeral sector and other interested parties to inform further development of the policy proposals for alkaline hydrolysis regulations.
Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
The Scottish Government wants to ensure that all those who have died are treated with the utmost dignity and respect. Death, burial, cremation and related topics are very emotive subjects. There are also ethical, faith, social and cultural dimensions to caring for the deceased. This consultation seeks to balance clarity of language around the alkaline hydrolysis process with the objective of ensuring that the subject matter is treated with care, respect and sensitivity.
While developing the 2016 Act, the Scottish Government were aware that new methods of body disposal which would sit alongside traditional burial and cremation were in development. One of these is alkaline hydrolysis, also known as 'water cremation.' Section 99 of the 2016 Act enables Scottish Ministers to make regulations to extend the application of the 2016 Act to encompass new methods of disposal of human remains. The proposals to regulate alkaline hydrolysis discussed in this consultation aim to provide people in Scotland with a possible alternative choice to burial and cremation, while ensuring that providers are subject to the same oversight, requirements and conditions as cremation.
Throughout this consultation, some of the language used is necessarily technical and may seem clinical. This has been done intentionally to avoid ambiguity in describing alkaline hydrolysis and to ensure accuracy in the development of a potential legal framework around the process.
Consultations in this collection
This consultation is being published as part of a collection of consultations relating to the content of various sets of regulations that will be made under sections of the 2016 Act which have not yet been implemented. They relate to:
Why your views matter
Your views will help shape the next steps of regulating this new method of body disposal, and ensure that we can deliver our aim of allowing all those who have died to be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. We want to hear a wide variety of views from the public and those within the funeral sector.
Interests
- Health and Social Care
- Main hub
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