Speeches by Hoare.

“The Committee is grateful for that answer. You are the commissioner for victims and survivors, Mr McVey, and we have the creation of an advisory group, as suggested in the Bill. Mr Johnstone, we now have one advisory group being set up to, if you like, mirror the work of the commission in that respect. Do you think tha…”

“I would like to start with a question about the victims and survivors advisory group, and who better to start with than the commissioner himself? In your recent submission to us, you raised concerns about its size and possible composition, about the powers vested with the Secretary of State, and about the potential for…”

“There is obviously the risk of duplication of work and effort. Is there the potential of duplication of people? You have mentioned that there will be between three and seven, but if you have one group of people involved in your commission who meet the criteria and the skillset, it is not going to be the biggest of pond…”

“A very quick question to Mr Johnstone. Good faith and trust are hugely important in all these processes—I think everybody would recognise that. I am asking you for a hunch, really: if Dublin and Westminster were able to arrive at a timetable whereby whatever it was agreed was necessary legislatively was delivered in lo…”

“I hope I was clear: I was not suggesting that you had.”

“Can I just ask for your thoughts on this aspect? I will caveat it: I am not a lawyer. I sometimes become concerned when I hear people saying it is vexatious—I am slightly picking up the point that Ms Hanna was just making. I think most people understand that there are a number of hurdles that any potential case has to …”

“Thank you for that answer, and thank you for what you are doing.”

“I am not sure that this is particularly fruitful, given the time.”

“Do you see a role for your position? I see the role of a commissioner as twofold: first, to represent a constituency of interest, but also to report back, inform and “educate” that constituency of interest; it is a two-way street. Do you see your role as commissioner as being to try to help—as I caveated, I am not a la…”

“The hon. Lady has hit upon the key word—assumed. Why would people think to think anything else? Funeral directors have chosen their profession—it is not like there is a conscript army of funeral directors, press-ganged into dealing with the deceased—so people presume and assume that the highest standards and quality wi…”

“I am very sorry to hear what the hon. Gentleman has relayed; I know that the whole House will send prayers, thoughts and sympathies to his constituents. What a terrible thing to be dealing with in what are already tragically sad circumstances. He is right to urge the Minister to give a turbocharged and energised respon…”

“I fundamentally agree with what the hon. Gentleman said, as would the lion’s share of operators, because they are acutely aware of a crisis of public confidence in the sector’s ability to deliver.”

“I do agree. In many respects, the only bit of legislation on which we can rest a serious prosecution is the Burial Act 1857, which deals with the corpse post internment. It is silent on the corpse’s treatment from the point of death through to the point of either internment or cremation. There is an enormous vacuum in …”

“There are many issues that will divide this House and many issues that will divide society, but one thing that probably unites all of us, and indeed society, is that we have a legitimate expectation of decent and respectful treatment for our dead. I do not think that is asking too much. The vast majority of funeral dir…”

“On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The hon. Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler) is absolutely right to draw the attention of the House to the Nolan principles of public life. Keeping a weather eye on those principles falls within the auspices of my Select Committee, the Public Administration and Constitutional …”

“I want to draw my remarks to a close, but not before I have given way to the hon. Gentleman.”

“I entirely agree, and I make this point again for the Minister’s benefit: he will not be trying to push water uphill in pushing for a regulatory and/or licensing regime. The good guys and girls want it to happen because it would give certainty. I can share with the House—I hope it is not breaching a confidence—that whe…”

“I agree fundamentally; it would be “the rising tide that floats all ships” argument. I will give way briefly to the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt), and then I have a couple of suggestions for the Minister.”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. It is a great strength to be a member of the trade association, because it gives an imprimatur of quality to the families choosing a funeral director, just as customers would choose a CORGI-registered boiler fitter or FENSA for windows. As the trade associations themselves have made clear, …”

“I agree. In so many choices that we make, the consumer now rightly demands the highest of standards. People want to ensure that the departure of their loved one from the world is as dignified, graceful, calm and respectful as it possibly can be.”