§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which orders under regulation 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations 1930, as amended, issued over the last five years have been signed by him, Ministers of State or Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State;
(2) on how many occasions he has signed orders under regulation 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations 1930, as amended, in each of the last five years in relation to the remains of persons who have died in (a) Oman, (b) Saudi Arabia, (c) Kuwait and (d) the rest of the world.
§ Mr. MellorCremation orders made under regulation 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations 1930 are issued, with the authority of the Secretary of State, by officials under a copy of his signature.
It is not possible without disproportionate cost to provide the number of cremation orders made in relation to the remains of persons who have died in specified places. During the last five years some 3,100 applications for orders have been dealt with.
§ Mr. Campbell-Savoursasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether it is the practice to make an order under regulation 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations in cases where an autopsy has been performed and a death certificate signed;
(2) what the circumstances are under which regulations under 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations 1930 as amended are signed;
(3) what documents he received prior to his decision to issue a certificate of exemption in the case of Mr. Robin Walsh;
(4) why he issued an order under regulation 12A(2) of the Cremation Regulations 1930, as amended, permitting the cremation of the body of Mr. Robin Walsh, when the cause of death was a heart attack resulting from maltreatment in a prison.
§ Mr. MellorTo enable the Secretary of State's order to be issued under regulation 12A(2), it is necessary that he should receive:
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- (i) an application for cremation signed by the nearest surviving relative or the executor, a specimen of which I have placed in the Library of the House.
- (ii) all the documents which came with the body on its return to this country. They must include a medical certificate of the cause of death.
Whether or not an autopsy had been performed the Secretary of State's order would be issued provided he was satisfied, on the information provided, that the death was from natural causes.At the time the order was made the Home Office was unaware that Mr. Walsh had died in prison.I understand that the hon. Member has tabled other questions to my right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, about Mr. Walsh's detention.