All-Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement
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 group is required to register the names of its officers, and a minimum of 20 qualifying members.[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]
Contents
Members
As at January 2nd 2019, Officers of this group are,[7]
- Mr Robert Godwill MP - chair
- Mark Pawsey MP vice-chair
- Baroness Burt of Solihull, Lorely Burt MP vice-chair
- Rosie Cooper MP vice-chair
- Sir David Amess MP vice-chair
- Diana Johnson MP vice-chair
- Gavin Robinson MP vice-chair
Members
Officers, Feb-April 2016
- Chair & registered contact: Mark Pawsey - Conservative Party
- Vice-chair: Rosie Cooper - Labour
- Vice-chair: David Amess - Conservative Party
- Vice-chair: Julian Knight - Conservative Party
- Vice-chair: Ronnie Cowan - Scottish National Party[8][9] [10]
Officers, September 2015
- Mark Pawsey - Conservative Party - Chair
- Rosie Cooper - Labour - Vice-chair
- David Amess - Conservative Party - Vice-chair
- Julian Knight - Conservative Party - Vice-chair
- Ronnie Cowan - SNP - Vice-chair [11]
Former officers
- Lorely Burt MP - chair
- Mark Pawsey MP co vice-chair
- David Amess MP co vice-chair
- Rosie Cooper co vice-chair
- Jenny Willott | Hugh Dykes | Mike Hancock | John Hemming | Peter Bottomley | Nigel Evans | Nadhim Zahawi | George Foulkes | Tom Clarke | Jim Cunningham | Dave Watts | Helen Goodman |Joan Wally | Frank Dobson | Paul Goggins | Dr. William McCrea[12]
As of March 2010, members of this group were:[13]
- Bill Olner - chair
- Robert Goodwill | Janet Dean | David Amess | Jim Cunningham | Ronnie Campbell | Eric Martlew | Rosie Cooper | Ken Purchase | Betty Williams | Dave Watts | Ian Stewart | Peter Bottomley | Alistair Burt | Kenneth Clarke | Nigel Evans | Lorely Burt | Hugh Dykes | Mike Hancock | Paul Holmes
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] Register of All-Party Groups, House of Commons], ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
- ↑ [2] Register of All-Party Groups, House of Commons], ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
- ↑ p.19 Guide To The Rules On All-Party Groups, House of Commons, ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
- ↑ [3], The Guardian website, accessed January 9th 2019.
- ↑ Guide To The Rules On All-Party Groups, House of Commons, ParliamentaryUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
- ↑ NAFD seizes the chance to lobby new Ministers, NAFD website, accessed 20 July 2009
- ↑ [4] Register of All-Party Groups ParliamentUK website, accessed January 9th 2019
- ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, www.parliament.uk, accessed 11 February 2016
- ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, Feb16 Register, parliament.uk, accessed 28 April 2016
- ↑ Funerals and Bereavement APPG, Register 28 April 2016, parliament.uk, accessed 10 May 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 APPG Register September,parliament.uk, accessed 12 November 2015
- ↑ [5], Register of All-Party Groups p.204, ParliamentUK website, accessed 4 August 2010
- ↑ All-Party Parliamentary Group for Funerals and Bereavement, Register of All-Party Groups, UK Parliament website, accessed 25 Mar 2010
- ↑ APPG Register March,parliament.uk, accessed 12 November 2015
