Regulation 9 Application for hydrolysis

(1)

An application under section 48(1) (application for hydrolysis) of the Act^f1 is to be made in accordance with this regulation.

(2)

An application for hydrolysis may be submitted where—

(a)

the deceased is an adult by—

(i)

the person specified by the adult in an arrangements on death declaration^f2 made by the adult,

(ii)

any person who may make arrangements on the death of the adult by virtue of section 65(2) (arrangements on death of adult)^f3, 68 (sections 65 and 66: application to sheriff)^f4 or 87 (burial, cremation or hydrolysis: duty of local authority)^f5 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,

(iv)

the managers of the hospital in which the deceased died or any officer or person designated for that purpose by the managers,

(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) (arrangements on death of child)^f6, 68 or 87 of the Act,

(c)

the remains to be hydrolysed 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^f7,

(d)

the body or any body part or body parts of the deceased have undergone anatomical examination, by a person licensed under section 3(2) (licences) of the Anatomy Act 1984^f8.

(3)

An application for—

(a)

the hydrolysis of an adult or child (other than an application made by a local authority) must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 1,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(b)

the hydrolysis of a still-born child must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 2,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(c)

the hydrolysis of a fetus, where an individual is making arrangements for the hydrolysis of the fetus, must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 3,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 to 5 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(d)

the hydrolysis of a fetus, where a person other than an individual is making arrangements for the hydrolysis under Part 3 of the Act, must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 4,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 to 3 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(e)

the hydrolysis of an adult or child made by a local authority by virtue of section 87 (burial, cremation or hydrolysis: duty of local authority) of the Act must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 5,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 to 6 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(f)

the hydrolysis of a body part or parts following a post-mortem examination (other than a post-mortem examination carried out for the purposes of the functions, or under the authority, of the procurator fiscal) must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 6,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 3 and 4 of that form,

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(g)

the hydrolysis of a body, body part or body parts following anatomical examination where authority was given under section 4(2) (lawful examinations) or section 4A(1) (lawful examinations: imported bodies) of the Anatomy Act 1984^f9 for the person’s body to be used for anatomical examination must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 6,

(ii)

contain the information specified—

(aa)

for the hydrolysis of a whole body, in sections 1 and 4 of that form, or

(bb)

for the hydrolysis of a body part or body parts, in sections 2 and 4 of that form, and

(iii)

be accompanied by the relevant documentation specified in that form,

(h)

the hydrolysis of a body part or parts following anatomical examination where the deceased died before 14 February 1988 must—

(i)

be in the form set out in schedule 7,

(ii)

contain the information specified in sections 1 and 2 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^f10.

(5)

In paragraph (2)(a)(iv) “managers” in relation to a hospital means—

(a)

in relation to a hospital vested in the Scottish Ministers under the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978^f11 (“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 (NHS trusts) of the 1978 Act^f12 the directors of the trust,

(c)

in the case of an independent health care service which is registered under section 10Q(1) (grant or refusal of registration) of the 1978 Act the person identified under section 10P(2)(b) (registration of independent health care services) of that Act^f13 in the application for registration,

(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,

(ii)

where the management of the hospital has not been so delegated, the Scottish Ministers.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: Section 48 is applied in relation to hydrolysis by regulation 2, as if modified in accordance with paragraph 5 of schedule 1, of S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f2: An “arrangements on death declaration” is defined in section 65(8) of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Act 2016 (asp 20) as amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f3: Section 65(2) is amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f4: Section 68 is amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f5: Section 87 is amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f6: Section 66(2) is amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f7: Part 3 is amended by S.S.I. 2026/XXX.
f8: 1984 c. 14.
f9: There are amendments to section 4 that are not relevant to this instrument. Section 4A was inserted by section 53(6) of the Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 (asp 4).
f10: 2010 asp 8.
f11: 1978 c. 29.
f12: Section 12A was inserted by section 31 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) and amended by paragraph 34 of schedule 2 of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46) and sections 46(1) and 48 and paragraph 45 of schedule 4 of the Health Act 1999 (c. 8).
f13: Sections 10P and 10Q were inserted by section 108 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 8). Section 10P was amended by S.S.I. 2024/172.