Funeral Service Times August 2017 November 2018 | Page 8

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DISPATCHES
Golden Leaves makes
Business of the Year
shortlist
The funeral planning business is up against seven other firms in The
Santander Growing Business of the Year category
Funeral planning firm, Golden Leaves, has officially been shortlisted
as a finalist in the Amazon Growing Business Awards in recognition of
its consistent long-term growth.
A trusted provider of funeral plans for over 30 years, Golden
Leaves will be up against seven other businesses in The Santander
Growing Business of the Year: Smaller Company (Turnover
£10m-£25m) category.
Other shortlisted finalists include: Brewhouse & Kitchen,
Housekeep, Key Travel and Love Energy Savings. The winner will
be decided by a judging panel of 35 business experts and award-
winning alumni and will be officially announced at a ceremony at The
Brewery in London on 28 November 2018.
The Amazon Growing Business Awards were created in 1998 by
digital publication Real Business to recognise the exceptional growth
of SMEs across the UK. 2018’s event marks 20 years since the awards
ceremony was founded.
SAIF calls for regulation of
profession
The association wants the funeral sector in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland to follow in Scotland's footsteps
The National Society of Allied and Independent Funeral Directors
(SAIF) has said England, Wales and Northern Ireland should follow
in Scotland’s footsteps and introduce regulation of the funeral
profession.
SAIF claims it is the first significant funeral trade association in the
UK to back statutory regulation of funeral directors. The association
has also urged its members with websites to display their prices
online as soon as possible to help bereaved consumers better
understand possible costs involved with a funeral.
The association’s position on regulation is in response to the
positive and proportionate way in which regulation is being
introduced in Scotland, and comes in the wake of a small number
of worrying cases in which funeral directors have fallen short of
standards to which trade association members subscribe.
In respect of online pricing, Tennens said SAIF’s leadership was
set to discuss a commonly agreed set of funeral elements that
would appear on a price list, to better help consumers make like-
for-like comparisons. It will consult its members and the whole
profession on topics such as price transparency, care facilities and
financial stability.
Following a consultation exercise, SAIF is to write to the
Westminster government, Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies,
stating its position on regulation of the funeral profession across all
jurisdictions.
NOVEMBER 2018
Barry Floyd,
managing director
of Golden Leaves,
said: “We are thrilled
to have made the
shortlist for an
Amazon Growing
Business Award. It is
very flattering to be
nationally recognised
for the personal
growth that Golden Leaves has achieved.
“The growth of the industry has seen the market expand year on
year where products and offerings diversify; insurance groups, sales
companies, national charities, giant supermarket brands and massive
public limited companies have now entered the sector and provide
fierce competition. Positioning the brand as a credible alternative to
the corporates and independent competitor base has been a big part
of our accelerated growth in what was already a competitive market.”
Golden Leaves also recently scooped Best Funeral Services
Provider – South London award at the London Business Enterprise
Awards 2017.
Police investigate London
cemetery over fears of
graves ‘disappearing’
Human remains were
found by a group
of campaigners at
Tottenham Park
cemetery, who
believe graves are
being dug up to make
space for new ones
Police have opened
an investigation
into Tottenham Park
cemetery after human remains were found uncovered on the site
by a group of campaigners who believe graves are being dug up
illegally to make space for new ones.
Campaigners found a broken skull, shoulder blade and leg
bones at the privately owned cemetery, while more remains
were found by the Tottenham Park Cemetery Action Group. Police
have confirmed that some bones found at the cemetery have
tested positive as human remains, tests are still pending on others
according to Scotland Yard.
Concern at the cemetery has been mounting with members of
the action group (which is made up of the relatives of those buried
there), complaining about a statue which was supposedly erected
depicting two totally unrelated people buried at Tottenham Park.
A spokesperson for Scotland Yard, said: “Police will continue to
liaise with local volunteer groups and the Tottenham Park cemetery
to repatriate the bones, once confirmed as human, at the location
as soon as is practicable,”
The Burial Act 1857 means it is illegal to remove a deceased
body without a licence from the government or permission from
the Church of England. The cemetery owned by an Essex-based
company charges up to £4,100 per burial plot and is well-known as
one of the largest Turkish-Cypriot cemeteries in the UK, with part of
it leased as an Islamic cemetery.
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