P2-49 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Local authority DI management and oversight review

Recommendation

There must be a review of the management and oversight arrangements for the mortuary service, taking into consideration who is appointed as the Designated Individual, their direct contact with the mortuary, level of influence within the local authority, and attendance at governance forums. In particular: Local authorities must ensure that the Designated Individual has enough time and resource to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including time for learning and development. The Designated Individual must have access to director-level officers in the local authority. The Designated Individual must also be able to directly raise issues in relation to the mortuary at the highest level within the local authority if they deem it is necessary. Where the Designated Individual is non-technically trained, a senior anatomical pathology technologist must fulfil the Mortuary Manager role to ensure that there is sufficient technical experience within the mortuary. The Designated Individual must attend regular, documented meetings at mortuary level. The Designated Individual must also attend governance forums where the mortuary is discussed and scrutinised. In line with Human Tissue Authority guidance, the named Licence Holder must be at a more senior level than the Designated Individual (e.g. director level or higher) and have a clear understanding of the Human Tissue Authority's statutory requirements and the role of the Designated Individual.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Government Interim Update, December 2025, the government accepted in principle the recommendation for a review of local authority mortuary management and oversight, including the role of the Designated Individual. The government stated it was working on governance guidance for local authority mortuaries (Government Interim Update, December 2025). No specific guidance document has been published to date.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, questions-statements.parliament.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
England
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
01 Dec 2025

The Government has agreed to accept in principle this recommendation subject to further work to determine its full impact.

Progress Timeline
Official Report
01 Dec 2025

Accepted in principle. The government has agreed to accept in principle this recommendation subject to further work to determine the full impact. The government will continue to work on its response to the recommendations and provide a full response to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report by summer 2026. (Source: Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, December 2025)

Source
Report Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report 15 Jul 2025
Responsible Bodies
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Primary
Recommendation age 0.7 yr
Last formal update 01 Dec 2025