Burial Citation, commencement and interpretation 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the Burial (Applications and Register) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and come into force on 1 March 2025. 2 In these Regulations— “ the Act ” means the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016, “ adult ” means a person who is 16 years of age or over, “ child ” means a person (other than a still-born child) who is under 16 years of age, “ electronic communication ” has the meaning given in section 15(1) (general interpretation) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000 and similar expressions are to be construed accordingly. 3 A form set out in a schedule of these Regulations and any accompanying information, documents or certificates may be communicated electronically. 4 A signature required as shown on a form set out in a schedule of these Regulations must, where— a an electronic form is used or a form is an electronic communication, be— i a signature in digital ink, or ii an image of a signature, b a paper form is used, be a signature in ink, and must be the signatory’s handwritten signature. Records 2 1 Each burial authority must retain for a period of 50 years, beginning with the date on which the burial is carried out, all burial application forms submitted in accordance with regulation 3 and any accompanying information, documents or certificates. 2 Subject to any requirement made by an inspector under section 91(1) of the Act, all documentation retained under paragraph (1) must be treated by the burial authority as confidential. 3 The burial authority must ensure that all documentation retained under paragraph (1) is at all times kept in an accessible form in secure conditions and that all appropriate measures are taken to prevent theft, unauthorised disclosure, damage, loss or destruction. Application for burial 3 1 An application under section 8(1) of the Act (application to carry out burial) is to be made in accordance with this regulation. 2 An application for burial may be submitted where— a the deceased is an adult by— i the person specified by the adult in an arrangements on death declaration made by the adult, ii any person who may make arrangements on the death of the adult by virtue of section 65(2), 68 or 87 of the Act, iii a person employed in the provision of, or managing the provision of, a care home service at which the deceased was living at the time of his or her death, or iv the managers of the hospital in which the deceased died or any officer or person designated for that purpose by the managers, v the body, body part or parts of the deceased have undergone anatomical examination, or are in the possession of a person licensed under section 3(2) of the Anatomy Act 1984 , by the person licensed to carry out the examination or have possession of the body, part or parts, or any other person authorised by the licensed person to submit it, b the deceased is a child, by a person who may make arrangements on the death of the child by virtue of section 66(2), 68 or 87 of the Act, c the remains to be buried are those of a still-born child or fetus, by the mother, or the person with authority to make arrangements in relation to the remains of that still-born child or fetus by virtue of Part 3 of the Act, or 3 An application for— a the burial of the remains of an adult or child (other than an application made by a local authority) must be in the form set out in schedule 1 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form, b the burial of the remains of a still-born child must be in the form set out in schedule 2 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form, c the burial of the remains of a fetus where an individual is making arrangements for the burial of the fetus, must be in the form set out in schedule 3 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 4 of that form, d the burial of the remains of a fetus where a person other than an individual is making arrangements for the burial under Part 3 of the Act must be in the form set out in schedule 4 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 3 of that form, e the burial of the remains of an adult or child by a local authority where they are making arrangements under section 87 of the Act (burial or cremation: duty of a local authority) must be in the form set out in schedule 5 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form, f the burial of a body, body part or body parts of an adult following anatomical examination where authority was given under section 4A(1) or section 4(2) of the Anatomy Act 1984 for the person’s body to be used for anatomical examination must be in the form set out in schedule 6 and contain the relevant information specified in sections 1 to 3 of that form, g the burial of a body part or parts of an adult which are in possession of a person licensed under section 3(2) of the Anatomy Act 1984, where the deceased died before 14th February 1988, or where the date of death is not known, must be in the form set out in schedule 7 and contain the information specified in sections 1 to 3 of that form. 4 In paragraph (2)(a)(iii) “ care home service ” means a care home service within the meaning of paragraph 2 of schedule 12 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 . 5 In paragraph (2)(a)(iv) “ managers ” means— a in relation to a hospital vested in the Scottish Ministers under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (“ the 1978 Act ”) the Health Board, or Special Health Board, responsible for the administration of that hospital, b in the case of a hospital vested in a National Health Service trust established under section 12A of the 1978 Act the directors of the trust, c in the case of an independent health care service which is registered under section 10Q(1) of the 1978 Act the person identified under section 10P(2)(b) of that Act in the application for registration, and d in the case of a state hospital— i where the Scottish Ministers have delegated the management of the hospital to a Health Board, Special Health Board, National Health Service or the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service, that Board, trust or agency or, ii where the management of the hospital has not been so delegated, the Scottish Ministers. Burial Register 4 1 For the purpose of section 10(1) of the Act, the prescribed information which a burial register must contain is— a for the burial of the remains of an adult or child, the information in part 1 of schedule 8, b for the burial of a body part or parts, the information in part 2 of schedule 8, and c for the burial of the remains of a fetus or still-born child, the information in part 3 of schedule 8. 2 The information in respect of each burial must be entered on the register by the burial authority as soon as practicable after the burial. 3 The burial authority must— a review the register from time to time, and b ensure that the information contained within it is accurate and up to date. JENNI MINTO Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh 12th November 2024