PAPER A

POLICY COMMISSION MEETING

Meeting	Policy Commission for Safer Communities
Ref	Saf.PC.3/11/05
Date	3 November 2005
Time	18.00hrs
Place	Committee Room 1, County Hall, Newport
Purpose of meeting	Formal public meeting
Attendance	Commission	Cllrs David Williams (Commissioner); Vanessa Churchman; Heather Humby; Susan Scoccia; Arthur Taylor; Diane Tuson
	Cabinet	Cllrs Barry Abraham; Andy Sutton
	Secretariat	Cllrs David Pugh; Alan Wells
	Officers	Mr Andrew Shorkey; Ms April West; Ms Sue Lightfoot; Mr Rob Owen, Mr Iain Donald, Ms Tracy Ringer
	Other Members	Cllr Muriel Miller
	Stake holders / Experts	Mr Geoff Leather, Managing Director, Leather and Taylor Ltd Mr Adrian Medley, Non Executive Chairman, Leather and Taylor Ltd Mr Morris Barton, Consultant for Leather and Taylor Ltd; Mr Simon Browning, Dignity (incorporating Lloyds, Downer and White, and Hamilton and Marshall); Mr William Hall, William Hall; Mr Terry Weaver, Weaver Bros
	Apologies	Cllr Henry Adams
Agenda Items
1. To agree the evidence arising at the meeting held on 6 October 2005 (Paper A)	The notes of the previous meeting were agreed as a true record of the evidence received.
2. Declarations of interest	Cllr David Williams declared that he was acquainted with Mr Adrian Medley, but that they shared no business interest.
3. VFM exercise to determine the future of the crematorium (a) To receive a presentation from Mr Rob Owen, Head of Consumer protection (Paper B)	1. There was no obligation for a Local Authority to own or operate a crematorium. 2. The nearest privately owned and operated crematorium was in Basingstoke. 3. There was a decline in the current death rate. It was anticipated that death rate would increase again in the near future. 4. The average cost of cremation was approximately £430. 5. The average cost of burial was approximately £900. 6. The crematorium generates surplus income, whereas burial generates a deficit due to the cost of grounds maintenance. 7. The Crematorium was not an underperforming service within the Isle of Wight Council. 8. The IW Council Bereavement Services were currently ranked within the top 10% nationally due to budget neutrality. 9. Surpluses generated by the crematorium were used to subsidise the maintenance of IWC cemeteries and closed churchyards that were estimated to make a loss this year of £196K. 10. The Isle of Wight Council was not alone in facing the challenge of complying with EU emissions legislation. This legislation would affect all owners of crematoria. 11. Emissions trading could be an option with respect to delaying the necessary expense of complying with EU emissions legislation that would come into force in 2011. 12. Mercury emissions from the cremation of dental fillings had been linked to the depletion of fish stocks. 13. It would cost approximately £15K to update the existing consultant’s report. 14. Bereavement Services currently held a £45K surplus that was generated over a two year period within the last four years. 15. The ring-fencing of capital receipts from asset disposal would be an important factor in the future management of Bereavement Services. 16. Bereavement Services surpluses have formerly been paid into a central pot where Bereavement Services were allowed to petition for a bursary if funding was required. Bereavement Services have received a bursary totalling £150K over the last 3 years. 17. The ring-fencing of capital receipts could set a precedent whereby those services that are not in a position to release capital receipts would be unable to invest in capital issues. 18. Some ring-fencing with respect to asset disposal had already been permitted under the previous administration. 19. The £250K maintenance contract was considered to be expensive. The maintenance service received was considered to be very good. 20. There was currently no information available with respect to Local Authorities operating Bereavement Services trusts. 21. No comparative studies had yet been carried out with respect to the operating costs of other Local Authorities or the private sector. It would be difficult to obtain information on the cost of cremation services at other local authorities due to local authority cross-charging. 22. A new alternative to cremation was a freeze-dry methodology that was currently in use in Sweden and was being looked at by other Local Authorities within the UK. This process was not legal at present in the UK.
(b) To hear representations from Island funeral directors.	23. It was noted that Paper C would not be forthcoming due to business sensitivities. 24. Leather Taylor Ltd. were the largest funeral directors on the Island and participated in the 2000 Best Value review which produced a trust proposal. 25. Island funeral directors were not advised when the Crematorium was put out to tender in 1996/7. 26. If the Crematorium was to be outsourced Leather Tayor Ltd. would like to be considered as a serious bidder. 27. Mr Colin Field who consulted for Leather Taylor had extensive experience of running crematoria and was involved in the outsourcing of cremation services at Merton Borough Council. 28. Transferred staff would be protected under TUPE arrangements. 29. There were a number of UNISON members within the Bereavement Services sector. 30. Staff within the service would be nervous about externalisation. 31. Pensions could present a difficulty if staff were transferred via TUPE to the private sector. 32. Pensions might be protected under a trust arrangement.
4. Fire and Rescue Options for Change (Saf5/05): to receive an update from Cllr David Williams (Paper C)	Noted
Action	· Arrange consultation with faith leaders · Identify other crematoria – outsourced and Local Authority – and co-ordinate fact finding visits · Compare charges and operating costs of identified crematoria · Obtain previous papers with regard to work done in relation to the future management of the crematorium	Rob Owen / O& S Team Rob Owen / O& S Team Rob Owen O&S Team