MP urges government to regulate funeral industry

MP Mark Sewards is calling on the government to impose regulations on the funeral industry

Warning: This article contains distressing content

An MP has called for new powers to regulate the funeral industry after a BBC investigation revealed a woman was keeping babies' bodies at her home.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had barred Amie Upton, who runs the Florrie's Army baby loss support and funeral service, from its mortuaries and NHS maternity wards in spring this year.

The government has since said it would "look at options" to improve the standards of funeral directors after one mother told the BBC she discovered her dead son had been put in a baby bouncer in 38-year-old Ms Upton's living room.

MP Mark Sewards said he would hold the government's "feet to the fire" to ensure regulations were brought in and this "horrific" case was not repeated.

Ms Upton said she had only ever had two complaints in her eight years of running her baby loss support and funeral service, Florrie's Army.

A statutory code of conduct for funeral directors was introduced in Scotland in March, but the industry is currently unregulated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Sewards, Labour MP for Leeds South West and Morley, said: "It's truly horrific what some of these parents have been put through and it's heart-breaking to know that bodies were treated in this way.

"It is absolutely essential that this government and we as MPs do everything in our power to change the law and the regulations now to ensure this never happens again."

He continued: "The good news is the government is already taking some action and have announced that we are using the law commission to draft some regulations."

'Implement regulations'

The government has not yet responded to a recommendation given by an inquiry in July that said statutory regulations should be introduced in England.

Sewards said there was a summer 2026 deadline for the interim report from the inquiry to be released, which will show how far along the government is on implementing the inquiry's recommendations.

"I'm going to hold the government's feet to the fire and ensure they actually implement those regulations when they are finally drafted and released to the public," he said.

The two main trade organisations - the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) and the National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors (SAIF) – have a joint code of conduct, which says members must undergo regular inspections of their premises and procedures.

Ms Upton is not a member of either organisation, in which membership is voluntary.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust said it had received "several serious concerns" about her services over the past few years and had raised these with the police, external safeguarding services, relevant regulators and the coroner's office.

West Yorkshire Police said it had investigated two reports about Ms Upton's funeral service since 2021 and after "extensive inquiries... no potential crimes were identified".

Many reviews of her services on Facebook are positive, with some families describing the service as "amazing" and "inspirational".

In response to the BBC's findings, a government spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the grieving families affected by this awful situation. They rightly expected their children to be treated with dignity and respect.

"We are committed to taking action to ensure the highest standards are always met by funeral directors and are now considering the full range of options to improve standards."

• If you, or someone you know, have been affected by child bereavement, support is available via the BBC Action Line

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