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 and Registrar explained that information was provided regarding all the options, with the booking documents and information was also available on the website.

A member asked how much an additional 30 min slot would cost. The Bereavement Services Manager and Registrar explained that there was a £70.20 fee for each additional 30 minutes. The fee was kept to a minimum to encourage people to book it. Currently there was no charge for going over the agreed time. If this did happen she explained the implications and asked the Funeral Director to be more considerate in future. If it continued she would write to regular offenders but every effort was made to manage the situation in a delicate way.

 RESOLVED                            The Joint Committee noted the report.