Burial Places

Mr. Pelling
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps she is taking to promote the provision of burial places in and around Greater London for use by Islamic communities;

(2) what estimate she has made of the number of burial places available in Greater London.

Ms Harman
I have been asked to reply.

Provision of burial space is a matter for individual boroughs to decide, including how much space should be set aside for the use of Islamic or other faith communities. The Department's recent guide for burial ground managers recommended seeking the requirements of local faith communities as a matter of good practice.

The returns received in response to the recent burial ground survey of England and Wales are expected to provide an indication of available burial space in London once analysis has been completed. A detailed survey of the position in London was carried out in 1997 by the London Planning Advisory Committee.