All-Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement

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All-Party groups are informal, cross-party interests groups. They are not part of the official structure of the Houses of Parliament and are therefore not accorded any role or powers by it.

The APPG for Funerals and Bereavement was set up and first registered in May 2002 and is currently chaired by Mr Robert Goodwill, Conservative MP for Scarborough & Whitby.

The APPG register on the Parliament website only requires APPGs to have the names of the Group’s officers. The rules no longer require 20 Members per APPG or for Members to be listed on the APPG register as required in the past.[1]

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) pays Brevia Consulting to provide secretarial services to the group.[2]

Groups may or may not receive support from other organisations but if they do so and the benefit received by the group is below a certain financial value which is currently £1500.00 per calendar year, there is no requirement for the group to register it. ‘Financial benefits’ means money received by the group (e.g donations, grants, subscriptions). ‘Material benefits’ means the provision of goods or services-not money (eg administrative services, hospitality, gifts). .[3]

On January 6th 2017, The Guardian reported “Benefits in kind and funding” at £25,501 [4]

How groups keep their accounts is up to them, except that they must keep sufficient records to be able to meet the registration requirements detailed in the Guide to the Rules on All-Party Groups. Any member of either House may turn up and speak at any meeting of any group; anyone else may only attend if invited by the group. Groups have no official status in Parliament. Hence although some basic information about them is registered they are in most regards subject to a light regulatory regime, but are not under any lawful obligation to make their minutes or accounts publicly available.[5]

It seems clear from an announcement made by NAFD after former Prime Minister Gordon Brown became prime minister that the APPG for Funerals and Bereavement acts like a lobby group:

When Gordon Brown reshuffled his team after taking office as Prime Minister, the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) wasted no time in seeking consultation with key Ministers on issues that are of concern to the funeral profession…. A General Election would have resulted in a further reshuffle, so Gordon Brown’s decision not to go to the country means the All Party Parliamentary Funerals and Bereavement Group can continue to develop its excellent relationships and solicit the support of the new Ministers. [6]

In addition to the Group officers, the following MPs and Peers take an interest in the work of the Group and are invited to Group meetings:[7]

Members

Officers, Feb-April 2016

Officers, September 2015

Former officers

As of March 2010, members of this group were:[13]

Secretariat

The National Association of Funeral Directors pays Brevia Consulting, a private consultancy, to act as the groups secretariat, as well as funding an annual luncheon for the group. [14]

Benefits

It was registered on 2 June 2015 that Brevia Consulting had been paid (in bands of £1,500) £25,501-£27,000 in fees to be the groups secretariat.[11]

Contact

Will Smith, representative of Brevia, is the group's public inquiry point.

Address: 5 Salamanca Place, London SE1 7HP

Tel: 0207 091 1650

Email: will.smith@brevia.co.uk

Notes

  1. ↑ [Brevia Consulting], email January 29th 2019
  2. ↑ [1] Register of All-Party Groups, House of Commons], ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
  3. ↑ p.19 Guide To The Rules On All-Party Groups, House of Commons, ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
  4. ↑ [2], The Guardian website, accessed January 9th 2019.
  5. ↑ Guide To The Rules On All-Party Groups, House of Commons, ParliamentaryUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
  6. ↑ NAFD seizes the chance to lobby new Ministers, NAFD website, accessed 20 July 2009
  7. ↑ Brevia Consulting email January 29th 2019
  8. ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, www.parliament.uk, accessed 11 February 2016
  9. ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, Feb16 Register, parliament.uk, accessed 28 April 2016
  10. ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, Register 28 April 2016, parliament.uk, accessed 10 May 2016
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 APPG Register September,parliament.uk, accessed 12 November 2015
  12. ↑ [3], Register of All-Party Groups p.204, ParliamentUK website, accessed 4 August 2010
  13. ↑ All-Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement, Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 25 Mar 2010
  14. ↑ APPG Register March,parliament.uk, accessed 12 November 2015
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