Agenda, decisions and minutes

No declarations of interest were received.

No apologies for absence were received.

RESOLVED –

That the Minutes of the Joint Crematorium Committee meeting held on 12 December, 2016 be approved as a true record.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.

The Bereavement Services Manager and the Clerk and Treasurer submitted a report on the Period 10 Budget Monitoring position as at the end of January 2017.

The report noted that the budget was currently showing a favourable profiled variance of £138,253 and this was detailed in the following:

·        Employee costs

·        Premises costs

·        Transport

·        Supplies and Services

·        Income

It was anticipated that the outturn for the year would be significantly better than forecast.

RESOLVED –

That the report be noted.

REASON FOR DECISION

To keep the Joint Committee informed about the financial performance of the Joint Crematorium.

RESOLVED –

That a one-off re-distribution of £550,000 from the Capital Improvement Reserve be made to the three constituent authorities at the end of the 2016/17 financial year and that the re-distribution be carried out on the same basis as normal distributions of surpluses.

The Bereavement Services Manager and the Clerk and Treasurer submitted a report to seek the Joint Committee’s approval to re-distribute part of the uncommitted Capital Improvement Reserve between the three constituent authorities at the end of the 2016/17 financial year.

At the meeting of the Committee on 12 December, 2016, it was highlighted that the projected balance of the Capital Improvement Reserve at the 2016/17 year end would be £783k. It was agreed to reduce the contributions made to this reserve from £162k to £90k leaving a substantial balance going forward. Discussions had been held with the Crematorium Manager and no additional major capital improvement works had been identified in the near future.

The report proposed to re-distribute £550k to the constituent authorities leaving a project balance of £233k for 2016/17, increasing to £503k by 2019/20. It was proposed to carry out the re-distribution on the same basis as normal distributions of surpluses.

RESOLVED –

That a one-off re-distribution of £550,000 from the Capital Improvement Reserve be made to the three constituent authorities at the end of the 2016/17 financial year and that the re-distribution be carried out on the same basis as normal distributions of surpluses.

REASON FOR DECISION

To ensure that the Crematorium has appropriate reserves to meet is capital improvement needs in the future.

To move “That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act” on the grounds that it contains information relating to financial or business affairs.

Part 2 (Non-Public Information)

RESOLVED –

That under Section 100 (A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

-      Report to follow

RESOLVED –

1.   That the additional expenditure for the chapel refurbishment be approved.

2.   That the report be noted and that the additional efforts made by staff to maintain standards of service during an extremely busy period be recognised, and that thanks be passed on to staff.

The Bereavement Services Manager presented a report on matters relating to the operation of the Crematorium.

The report included information on the number of cremations during October 2016 to February 2017 which had been the busiest winter in the Crematorium’s history. The report also included information on the number of cremations during October to December 2016, broken down into local authority area and compared against the total number of cremations for the same period in 2014 and 2015.

The report noted that the chapel refurbishment was underway with work taking place during weekends and evenings to ensure minimum disruption of services. The report sought approval for additional expenditure in order to address a number of issues identified during the refurbishment; the costs would be met from reserves. Works to create the additional chapel exit were underway and an updated CCTV system had been installed.

The report recognised the commitment and efforts of the crematorium staff to ensure the high standards of service were maintained during the crematorium’s busiest period on record and whilst facing other challenges including two major projects and changes in staffing.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the additional expenditure for the chapel refurbishment be approved.

2.   That the report be noted and that the additional efforts made by staff to maintain standards of service during an extremely busy period be recognised, and that thanks be passed on to staff.

REASON FOR DECISIONS

1.   To maintain high standards at the crematorium.

2.   To keep members updated and acknowledge the additional efforts made by staff.

-      Report to follow

RESOLVED –

1.   That the progress made in the development of the company be noted.

2.   That the name of the new company be agreed as Chesterfield and District Crematorium.

3.   That the number of Directors from each authority be in line with the current authority representation on the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee and be as follows:

·        Chesterfield Borough Council – 5 Directors

·        North East Derbyshire District Council – 4 Directors

·        Bolsover District Council – 2 Directors

4.   That a detailed draft report be submitted to the Senior Leadership Teams and relevant legal advisors at each authority for comment and that the report be presented to the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee following the consultations.

5.   That the following points be included in the report:

·        Shareholders Agreement

·        Transfer Agreement

·        Lease

·        Business Plan

·        That the number of Directors from each authority be as follows:

o   Chesterfield Borough Council – 5 Directors

o   North East Derbyshire District Council – 4 Directors

o   Bolsover District Council – 2 Directors

The Bereavement Services Manager provided an update on the progress made to develop a wholly owned company to run the crematorium.

The report set out proposals for the name of the new company, the make up of the board of directors and the transfer of cemetery staff into the company in addition to the crematorium staff. The governance and rules for the new company would be set out within the company’s Articles and Shareholders Agreement which were attached as appendices to the officer’s report, along with the draft Lease and Transfer Agreements.

It was proposed that consultations with affected staff would commence from May 2017 and the new company would begin trading from the end of September 2017.

The report noted that there were potential implications relating to Corporation Tax and VAT however specialist advice had been obtained which recommended that the new company enter into an operating lease with Chesterfield Borough Council. The report also provided details of the legal advice that had been provided by an external solicitor and the risks involved in establishing the wholly owned company.

Members of the Committee agreed that in order to have sufficient information to present the proposals to their respective Cabinets, a more detailed report should be submitted to each authority’s legal team and Senior Leadership Team for comment. The report would then be brought back to the Committee for consideration before being presented to the three Cabinets.

RESOLVED –

1.   That the progress made in the development of the company be noted.

2.   That the name of the new company be agreed as Chesterfield and District Crematorium.

3.   That the number of Directors from each authority be in line with the current authority representation on the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee and be as follows:

·        Chesterfield Borough Council – 5 Directors

·        North East Derbyshire District Council – 4 Directors

·        Bolsover District Council – 2 Directors

4.   That a detailed draft report be submitted to the Senior Leadership Teams and relevant legal advisors at each authority for comment and that the report be presented to the Chesterfield and District Joint Crematorium Committee following the consultations.

5.   That the following points be included in the report:

·        Shareholders Agreement

·        Transfer Agreement

·        Lease

·        Business Plan

·        That the number of Directors from each authority be as follows:

o Chesterfield Borough Council – 5 Directors

o North East Derbyshire District Council – 4 Directors

o Bolsover District Council – 2 Directors

REASON FOR DECISIONS

To allow the development of the Wholly Owned Company to meet the needs of the bereaved.