Fire and Public Safety Select Committee Minutes

40. MINUTES

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2004 were confirmed.

41. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest at this stage.

42. FORWARD PLAN

The Head of Select Committee and Best Value Support advised Members of the items of relevance to the Select Committee which were contained in the Forward Plan for the period November 2004 to February 2005

43. HM CORONER’S SERVICE FOR ISLE OF WIGHT

The Portfolio Holder indicated that new charges imposed by funeral directors meant that sudden deaths costs had increased from the expected £5,000 to £23,000 per year.

The Isle of Wight Coroner presented a detailed breakdown of the main areas of his work, which included current staffing levels and costs of the service provided. The bulk of the Coroner’s work involved sudden deaths. A post mortem would usually be held if no medical attention had been received within the previous 14 days. Suspicious deaths required inquests.

The Select Committee acknowledged that the Island had several factors which may contribute to sudden deaths, including a high percentage of older people, the rise in population during the holiday season, and the presence of three prisons on the Island.

The Select Committee was advised that the costs charged by funeral directors for transportation of bodies for post mortem, had risen from a nil cost in 2001 to £100 per body in 2004. There was some discussion with regard to putting the body transportation service out to tender. Members believed the tender specification would have to be worded carefully to ensure that the service provided was handled with the correct dignity. This had been done in other areas and found to be a successful, cost-saving exercise.

The Coroner advised the Select Committee of the Home Office’s proposal to abolish the present Coroner’s Service by 1 April 2007 following a review. It was anticipated that a regionalised service, based on police districts, would replace the present service, although there was a possibility that a local office would be retained. Consultation was to be undertaken which could lead to the need for legislation taking a further 3 to 5 years. Members were made aware of possible costs if redundancies occurred. Members believed a regionalised service would result in lack of local knowledge.

The Isle of Wight Council was bound by statute to fund the local Coroner’s Service. Although the Coroner was paid by the Council, he was employed by the Crown. The Select Committee understood that Hampshire Constabulary had a policy of retaining Coroner’s Officers on the payroll, but the Island appeared to be treated differently. Coroner’s Officers were funded by the Police in Hampshire, but Island based staff were paid for in part by the Council. Members believed that a letter should be sent to the Chief Constable asking for clarification. The Head of Consumer Protection advised Members that he had arranged a meeting with the Police to discuss the matter.

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE HEAD OF CONSUMER PROTECTION

With the agreement of the Portfolio Holder, that a tendering process for the transportation of bodies be pursued.

44. BUY WITH CONFIDENCE TRADER APPROVAL SCHEME

Officers advised the Select Committee that there was a national scheme in operation called Door-stoppers, this involved a poster campaign and information sharing with the Police designed to restrict the activities of rogue traders. Members believed that owners of caravan sites could be encouraged to report any obvious rogue traders staying on their sites. There was also some concern with regard to bogus antique dealers operating on the Island.

The new Buy with Confidence scheme would provide a list of Trading Standards approved traders and be made available on a website controlled by the Trading Standards Service. This would enable fast, easy access for updating information. No paper copies would be available, but a telephone number would be available for those without internet access.

During initial consultation, 30 businesses had indicated an interest in membership of the scheme, and if supported by the Select Committee, the first presentation event could take place in January 2005. Approved traders would receive a certificate from the Trading Standards Service.

In order to gain a place on the approved list traders would be comprehensively vetted. Checks would be carried out on company background, financial standing, complaints records and County Court Judgements. Traders would be asked to provide a criminal record check. Training would be made available to Buy With Confidence members.

45. CONSUMER DIRECT

The Portfolio Holder described Consumer Direct as a consumer advice service broadly based on principles already established by NHS Direct.

The Select Committee was advised that the Consumer Direct scheme was part of the Government’s vision for a modern and dynamic economy. It was a Department of Trade and Industry initiative to establish a national single telephone number for consumers, providing first tier level consumer advice because of unmet demand. Consumer Direct would be linked to and underpinned by existing local authority services.

Consumer Direct was on target to be launched regionally in April 2005, and would be funded by Government until 2010. The launch would include local advertising.

The Consumer Direct contact centre for the South East and Thames Valley area would be provided by means of a contract between Trading Standards South East Ltd, a company formed by the seventeen Trading Standards Services in the area, and the Department for Trade and Industry. Each of the seventeen Trading Standards Services would nominate a representative to sit on a management board.

CHAIRMAN