Competition and Markets Authority – Funerals – Insight Gathering
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is inviting interested parties to provide insights on the funerals market and to enable the CMA to consider next steps, including whether or not to consult on a market investigation reference.
On 18 December 2020, the CMA issued its final report following a market investigation into the supply of funerals and related goods and services in the United Kingdom. The CMA’s market investigation identified problems in the funerals sector and proposed a package of ‘sunlight remedies’ to address those problems. The package included:
- a recommendation to the CMA Board to: (a) actively monitor market outcomes in the funerals sector; (b) publish an annual review of market outcomes in the funerals sector; and (c) consider at the earliest opportunity, when the impact and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the funerals sector are sufficiently understood and the sector is more stable, whether to consult on a future market investigation reference (MIR);
- the legally binding Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021 (the Order) to support customers when choosing a funeral director or crematorium and to place the sector under greater public scrutiny; and
- a recommendation to the UK government and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland and Wales to establish in England, Northern Ireland and Wales an inspection and registration regime to monitor the quality of funeral director services, as a first step in the establishment of a broader regulatory regime for funeral services in these nations.
On Friday 23 August 2024, the CMA published a document seeking views on the funerals market to enable the CMA Board to consider next steps, including whether or not to consult on a MIR. They are seeking views on how the funerals market has evolved since the conclusion of the market investigation, covering the cost to funeral directors and crematoria operators of conducting a funeral, the price of a funeral to consumers, the quality of funeral services, any change in consumer behaviour, the impact of the Order on the market and the likely evolution of the funerals market in the coming years. They would like to hear from you on these matters.
More information and a link to the survey can be found here.
This consultation closes at 5pm on 20 September 2024