Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to (a) halt mounding at Manor Park Cemetery and (b) establish an independent inspection of the effect of earlier mounding at that cemetery on remains.

Private burial grounds such as Manor Park Cemetery are not covered by the same legislation that governs local authority burial grounds, and the Government’s intervention and enforcement powers are limited.

However, we anticipate that those operating private burial grounds will adhere to the standards and principles underpinning the framework of regulation and guidance which applies to local authority burial grounds. I have asked my officials to ensure that this expectation is conveyed to officials at Manor Park Cemetery.

I will also ask them to ensure that the issue of mounding is brought to the attention of the Law Commission in the context of its forthcoming project, as part of its current Programme of Law Reform, to consider modernising and streamlining the law governing the disposal of human remains with a view to putting forward a legal framework for the future.