Local MP Alan Mak has welcomed the Labour Government's commitment to take action to tackle rogue operators in the funeral industry.
Mr Mak is among MPs in the south who are part of a campaign to regulate the industry, and he recently signed a letter to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper voicing concerns about the lack of a system of professional regulation or licensing.
It urged the Government to establish a statutory regulator and provide the necessary funding to enable the funeral industry to be inspected, licensed and regulated.
The letter also called for the immediate publication of a comprehensive response to recommendations in the Fuller Inquiry, which investigated how David Fuller abused the bodies of 101 deceased women and girls in hospital mortuaries over 15 years.
Now the Health Secretary has announced that the Government will introduce what it calls 'comprehensive' regulation and that detailed plans and timetables will be set out in due course.
The letter from MPs came after the shocking case of funeral director Robert Bush, who left bodies in his care decomposing in squalor and provided 46 families with the ashes of strangers.
It stated: "In England and Wales, there are no statutory minimum standards for the care of the deceased, no system of professional regulation or licensing, and no legal duty of care owed to a person after death. That regulatory black hole made Robert Bush's actions possible."
Other recent cases include Gosport funeral directors Richard Elkin and Hayley Bell, who were found to have left 46 bodies in an unrefrigerated environment.
Mr Mak said: "I believe it's vital that trust is restored in this important industry and that we have regulation to ensure people are treated with dignity.
"I would welcome a system of inspection, licensing and regulation that would ensure rogue operators are removed and raise standards across the industry, and I'm sure all reputable funeral directors would agree."
