§ Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the criteria for refusing the burial or cremation of United Kingdom nationals whose bodies are returned following death abroad; and if he will give the number of such refusals in each year from 1986.
§ Mr. Charles WardleI have been asked to reply.
Whether or not a body repatriated from abroad is accepted for burial or cremation is ultimately a matter for the burial or cremation authority, which will need to be satisfied that the prescribed documentation has been supplied. Such refusals do not have to be reported, so their numbers are unknown.