P2-49 Response Accepted in Part

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:
- The government stated in December 2025 that this recommendation on management oversight of local authority mortuaries was accepted in principle. Full government response due Summer 2026 (Government Interim Update on Fuller Inquiry Phase 2, DHSC, 16 December 2025).
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
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 0.9 yr
Last formal update 01 Dec 2025