BEREAVED parents who were told there were no ashes to scatter after their children were cremated are to be given a full explanation over how the remains came to be buried in a Garden of Remembrance.
A report of initial findings from an inquiry by Edinburgh City Council into the scandal at Mortonhall Crematorium has called for them to be given full access to the records once a second investigation is completed.
The inquiry was launched after child bereavement charity Sands Lothians discovered the council-owned crematorium had failed to pass on children's remains for 45 years.
The council is also to carry out a review of current policy, equipment and staff training at the crematorium to ensure national guidelines are being followed, while independent auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers will look through more than 100,000 records at the site.
The council's chief executive, Sue Bruce, will continue to inform ministers of any issues arising from the investigation which may have national significance.
The report also recommends that an independent figure be appointed to complete the inquiry.
Councillor Lesley Hinds, environment convener, said: "Having received these findings I feel it is only right and proper, and taking into account the views of parents, that an independent person now completes the inquiry. This person would also look at all the recommendations in the report which include ensuring the council has clear policies in relation to cremations and that they comply with national guidelines."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article