RESOLVED                            That Councillor R Young be appointed Chairperson of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee for the ensuing year.

RESOLVED                            That Councillor R Turner be appointed Vice-Chairperson of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee for the ensuing year.   

To receive declarations of personal and prejudicial interest (if any) from Members/Officers in accordance with the provisions of the Members’ Code of Conduct adopted by Council from 1st September 2009.

None

To receive for approval the Minutes of a meeting of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee held on the 3 March 2017

RESOLVED                          That the minutes of the meeting of the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee of 3 March 2017 be approved as a true and accurate record.  

The Clerk and Technical Officer presented a report advising the joint Committee on the performance of Coychurch Crematorium during 2016/17.

He explained that clause 3.2 of the Joint Authority “Memorandum of Agreement” relating to the Coychurch Crematorium Joint Committee required that the Joint Committee received a report at the Annual General Meeting reviewing performance against the Business Plan for the preceding year.

The Clerk and Technical Officer reported that the Crematorium carried out 1590 cremations in 2016 compared to 1581 cremations in 2015.

He added that the Crematorium carried out a quarterly review of questionnaire results which fed into the annual assessment of the quality of service. For 2016/17 this showed that the overall satisfaction level to be either excellent or good for 100% of responses. An analysis of the responses received was included in the report in addition to specific comments and observations raised.

The Clerk and Technical Officer referred to the programme of Business Plan expenditure for 2016/17 and explained the CAMEO payments, the mercury abatement plan and trading mercury abatement with crematoria that had not installed abatement equipment. He confirmed that Coychurch Crematorium had the most environmentally friendly equipment currently available.

A member referred to services overrunning and gave the example of large funerals from the Llantwit Major area where it was difficult to get everyone to Coychurch by the set time and suggested that a letter be sent to the Funeral Directors reminding them of the need to allow enough time when booking the crematorium.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar explained that the Funeral Directors were reminded on a timely basis that they should allow enough time but often it came down to business and trying to keep funerals tight to turn the fleet around as quickly as possible for the next service. When a church service had already taken place, the service at the crematorium tended to be shorter and most of the problems were caused by a full service at the crematorium running over. Staff had been trained to suggest and to guide the public towards longer booking times if applicable. The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar confirmed that there was a sign on the lectern and a clock to indicate the time remaining.

A member commented that staff at the crematorium did a fantastic job in line with the comments received.

A member requested more information about the facility to relay services to other countries. The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar explained that the Wesley Sound System had been introduced which allowed music to be down loaded onto a computer in addition to the facility to record and webcast a service. The webcast service was only provided if a written request had been received from the cremation applicant who was then sent a password to circulate to others. The service was tightly restricted and widely used, particularly by people who were unwell or lived a long distance away. .             

A member asked if this service was well advertised. The Bereavement Services Manager  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar presented a report seeking nominations and approval of organisations to receive charitable funding from the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) scheme for the recovery of metals arising from cremations and updating the Joint Committee on charity donations made by Coychurch Crematorium.

She explained that Coychurch Crematorium participated in a national scheme for the Recycling of Metals which were derived from the cremation process. Any surplus monies after the deduction of costs from the sale of metals were distributed to charities associated with bereavement services, via the ICCM.   The Joint Committee had previously supported charitable donations to Cruse Bereavement Care (Morgannwg), Bridgend Samaritans, Eye to Eye (RCT), Macmillan Cancer Support (Wales), Make a Wish UK, 2 Wish Upon A Star and Ty-Hafan.

The report included a list of charities in order of award and nominations would be provided to the ICCM in rotation along with further recommendations from Members of the Joint Committee.

A member commented that he was very pleased to see the list comprised of local charities within the area.

A member suggested the Stroke Association be added to the list and that in order of priority, it should sit after Tenovus and Marie Curie and before Cruse.

RESOLVED                            The Joint Committee:

1)    Noted the charitable donations made by Coychurch Crematorium.

2)    Nominated the Stroke Association to be added to the list (after Tenovus and Marie Curie and before Cruse) and supported the list of suitable charities, for submission for funding from the National Recycling of Metals Scheme. 

The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar presented a report advising the Joint Committee on the progress of the expansion of the infrastructure in the new land extension.

On 6th February 2009 the Joint Committee approved the construction of an access road and additional car parking into the new land. Phase 1 of these works was completed in June 2009, which provided an access road to a new memorialisation area and a car park.

She reported that at the meeting on 4th March 2016 the Joint Committee approved the Service Level Business Plan for 2016/17 which included design costs of £30,000.00 for the planning of Phase 2 infrastructure, to facilitate the continuation of the access road and an additional car park. Construction work was planned for 2017/18. At the meeting on 2nd December 2016 the Joint Committee approved the issue of tenders to potential contractors in accordance with Bridgend County Borough Council’s Contract and Financial Procedures Rules.

At the meeting on 3rd March 2017 the Joint Committee awarded the Contract to Alun Griffiths Contractors Ltd in the sum of .£269,498.68. The Joint Committee delegated to the Clerk and Technical Officer the power to approve the final terms of the Contract in consultation with Bridgend County Borough Council’s Corporate Director of Operational and Partnership Services, and thereafter arranged for the execution of the Contract by the Corporate Director of Operational and Partnership Services on behalf of the Joint Committee.

Work commenced on 24th April 2017, with a scheduled contract completion date of 8th September 2017. During this period the Crematorium remained operational with disruption minimised through the arrangement of site deliveries and intrusive works outside of normal business hours. The works were ahead of schedule and should be completed by 3rd July 2017. The works were currently within budget.

A member commented that the additional car parking was welcomed. 

RESOLVED                            The Joint Committee noted the report.   

The Finance Manager - Financial Control and Closing, presented the unaudited Annual Accounting Statement following closure of the accounts for the financial year 2016-17 to the Joint Committee to obtain approval to submit the Statement for Coychurch Crematorium to the Wales Audit Office for auditing.

He explained that under Regulation 14 of the Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014, Coychurch Crematorium was required to complete an Annual Accounting Statement as it was classed as a smaller local government body with annual income and expenditure below £2.5 million.

The Accounts and Audit (Wales) Regulations 2014 required that the Joint Committee formally approve the Annual Accounting Statement by 30 June and certify that they present fairly the financial position of Coychurch Crematorium. Following which, unless the Annual Accounting Statement needed to be amended, the auditor would certify the Statement and send it back to the Joint Committee for publication with no further approval required by the Joint Committee. If amendments were required, the auditor would send the Statement back to the Joint Committee for amendment and re-approval before the auditor could certify the Statement. The certified Annual Accounting Statement has to be published by no later than the 30 September. 

The Finance Manager - Financial Control and Closing referred the Joint Committee to the table showing the Financial Position 2016-17 and explained that the expenditure figure for Supplies, Services & Transport included the cost of the cremators. He explained the Income table and the significant variances form the budget and also gave a breakdown of the support service charge for the current and previous year.

In addition to the Annual Accounting Statement, a supplementary Balance Sheet providing a further breakdown of the figures recorded in the Annual Accounting Statement, was provided.

A member asked if the short term debtors were allowed a certain amount of time to pay. The member was advised that Funeral Directors paid by invoice a month in arrears. They were given 28 days to pay and those that failed to pay were sent a reminder.

A member queried the differences in the amount for certain support services from 2015-16 to 2016-17. The member was advised that accountancy was now more efficient hence the reduction whilst procurement had seen a large increase.   Procurement would have seen an increase in workload as a result of the new cremators as well as the roof works.

RESOLVED                             The Joint Committee approved the Annual Accounting Statement for Coychurch Crematorium for 2016-17 and that the Accounting Statement for Coychurch Crematorium be submitted to the Wales Audit Office.   

To consider any other item(s) of business in respect of which notice has been given in accordance with Rule 4 of the Council Procedure Rules and which the person presiding at the meeting is of the opinion should by reason of special circumstances be transacted at the meeting as a matter of urgency.

There were no urgent items.