17th June 2007, 06:12 PM
Quote:quote:Originally posted by BAJR Host
Would it be correct to say that work carried out or agreed to be carried out (under contract) that has/is about to take place is now in doubt due to a change in interpretation.. and what day did this happen .. and am I also right in thinking that no organisation was aware of this possible reinterpretation.. and if they were.. why is this only now coming to our attention now.
Exhumation licences issued before the changes occurred still stand, so projects that have a licence can continue. What has changed is that exhumation licences are no longer being issued, which has stalled a number of projects (various figures have been put forward, the last I heard was 30-40). The first refusal I heard of was on 5th June, but in his e-mail to Britarch on 7th June, Sebastian Payne of EH said "About ten days ago, the Ministry of Justice began to advise that licenses under the Burial Act 1857 are no longer thought to be appropriate for many sites for which licenses would previously have been issued." - which dates the change at 28th May. As far as I am aware there was no prior warning, which caused great confusion. The matter has been discussed on Britarch, the BABAO (osteologists) list and here, but no solution has yet been reached.
David - if you check your e-mails on info@bajr you'll find an e-mail dated 5th June about the matter.
D
I dig dead people