The Scottish Government has said it would ensure north-east families affected by the baby ashes scandal received the best answers possible.
Public Health Minister Michael Matheson said he wanted to ensure cases were given the same level of scrutiny as those at Mortonhall Crematorium in Edinburgh.
He told MSPs that the government had not ruled out a public inquiry and would decide how best to proceed after Lord Bonomy’s Infant Cremation Commission’s report was published.
Aberdeen City Council was also implicated in the fallout from the Mortonhall case last year when it emerged that ashes of babies may have been disposed of without families’ knowledge at Hazlehead crematorium.
Auditors who conducted an independent probe – ordered by the authority in Aberdeen – were unable to check if families had been consulted in 40 instances dating back to 1984, as records were not kept.
First Minister Alex Salmond said yesterday that new legislation would be brought forward at the earliest opportunity to prevent the scandal from ever being repeated.
He pledged that the government would implement all the recommendations made in the report by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini, who led a year-long inquiry into practices at Mortonhall Crematorium.
Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland has referred the report to Police Scotland for further investigation into any possible criminality. Mr Salmond, MSP for Aberdeenshire East, also announced a further £100,000 of funding for counselling services to help the families affected.
In a ministerial statement to parliament, Mr Matheson said: “We want parents to have as best an answer as is possible for their own child.
“We will consider how best this can be ensured when any potential criminal investigations are concluded and when we have the Infant Cremation Commission’s report.
“We must ensure that all affected parents receive the same level of investigation as happened for the 253 families affected at Mortonhall.”
A spokesman for Aberdeen City Council said it was reviewing Dame Elish Angiolini’s report which focused on cases in Edinburgh, England and Northern Ireland.
“We await the outcome of Lord Bonomy’s Infant Cremation Commission which is looking into practices elsewhere in Scotland,” he added.