{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-hydrolysis-scotland-no-1-regulations-2026/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-hydrolysis-scotland-no-1-regulations-2026/note.json",
  "legislation": "sdsi/2026/9780111064443",
  "legislation_title": "The Hydrolysis (Scotland) (No. 1) Regulations 2026",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/draft-hydrolysis-scotland-no-1-regulations-2026",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations make provision regarding hydrolysis, a new form of disposal of human remains.\nRegulation 2 applies provisions of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 (“the Act”) to hydrolysis, as if they were subject to specified modifications. The modifications that are to be read into the Act are set out in schedule 1.\nRegulation 3 and schedule 2 amend the Act to reflect that hydrolysis is a third option for the disposal of human remains, in addition to burial and cremation. In particular—\namendments are made to Part 3 of the Act (arrangements on death), which sets out who has the right to instruct the disposal of human remains, to include hydrolysis alongside burial and cremation;\namendments are made to Part 4 of the Act (inspection) to allow the appointment of inspectors of hydrolysis and to allow the Scottish Ministers to make regulations for or in connection with the carrying out of inspections of hydrolysis facilities and hydrolysis authorities, aligning them with burial grounds, burial authorities, crematoriums and cremation authorities;\namendments are made to section 107 (interpretation) to include new defined terms that are relied upon in the amendments to the Act.\nRegulations 4 to 16 contain consequential amendments to other legislation. In particular—\nthe Burial and Cremation (Pregnancy Loss Prescribed Information and Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2018 are amended to reflect that hydrolysis is an option alongside burial and cremation following pregnancy loss;\nthe Burial and Cremation (Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 are amended to ensure that hydrolysis facilities and hydrolysis authorities are subject to the same inspection regime as burial and cremation authorities, burial grounds and crematoriums;\nregulation 9 and schedule 8 of the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019, which require a Form E1 to be provided where the death of a person has been investigated by the procurator fiscal before that person’s remains can be cremated, are revoked. Equivalent provision is made by amendment to the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 (Prohibition on Disposal of a Body without Authorisation) Regulations 2015, to provide that a Form E1 is to be provided where the death of a person has been investigated by the procurator fiscal before that person’s remains can be cremated or hydrolysed.\nRegulations 1 to 3 come into force on the day after the day on which these Regulations are made, for the purposes of exercising the powers contained in sections 47(1), 48(2), 56(1) and 57(1) and (2) of the Act, as applied in relation to hydrolysis and as if modified in accordance with regulation 2 and schedule 1 of these Regulations. These Regulations come into force for all other purposes on 2 March 2026.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2026/9780111064443/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-30T15:28:15.801938+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}