Funerals market: insight gathering
The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) purpose is to help people, businesses and the UK economy by protecting competition and tackling unfair behaviour.
About this insight gathering exercise
On 18 December 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its final report following a market investigation into the supply of funerals and related goods and services in the United Kingdom.
Our market investigation identified problems in the funerals sector and proposed a package of ‘sunlight remedies’ to address those problems. The package included:
a recommendation that the CMA:
actively monitors market outcomes in the funerals sector
publishes an annual review of market outcomes in the funerals sector
considers 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
- 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
Why we're asking for your views
We are inviting interested parties to provide views on the funerals market to enable the CMA to consider next steps, including whether or not to consult on a market investigation reference (MIR).
Where the CMA proposes to make a MIR, it must first consult, so far as practicable, any person on whose interests the reference is likely to have a substantial impact (see the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), 2006, Market investigation references: Guidance about the making of references under Part 4 of the Enterprise Act (OFT 511)).
How to respond
We are seeking views from all interested parties.
Our call for views opens on Friday 23 August 2024 and closes at 5pm on Friday 20 September 2024.
To respond, you can:
- use the form below
- email funerals@cma.gov.uk
We encourage you to use the form below to share your views, but if you wish to send us a more detailed submission, email funerals@cma.gov.uk
Confidentiality
In providing responses, please identify any material that you consider to be confidential and provide a description of why this is the case. The disclosure of information which relates to the affairs of an individual or any business of an undertaking, and which comes to the CMA in the course of this information gathering exercise, is governed by the statutory gateways in Part 9 of the Enterprise Act 2002 and such information can only be released in particular circumstances set out in that Act.
What happens next
We will publish non-confidential versions of responses. These documents will be available on our website and respondents will be notified when they are available.
We will analyse responses and the CMA will take these into account when considering whether to consult on a market investigation reference.
Personal information
The CMA will collect, use and share personal data for its investigations and other related statutory purposes. The CMA expects that it may obtain personal information from you through this form.
By completing and submitting this form and by submitting information to the CMA via CMA Connect, you confirm that you agree with the CMA using your personal data for the purposes set out above.
Any personal data you provide us will be handled in accordance with our obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. Our personal information charter sets out the standards you can expect from us when we collect, use or share personal data and provides details of your rights in relation to that data and how to contact us.
For more information about how the CMA handles personal information, please see our personal information charter.