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Agenda and minutes

Venue: Committee Room 4 - Civic Centre. View directions

Contact: Anne Jenkins, Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01633 656656

Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Councillors Taylor, Brookes, Williams and Huntley.

2.

Declarations of Interest

Minutes:

None received.

3.

Minutes of the Meeting Held on 15 June 2016 pdf icon PDF 144 KB

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting of 15 June 2016 we accepted as a true record.

 

4.

Gwent Crematorium Final Accounts 2015/16

Papers to be distributed at the meeting.

Minutes:

J Hazelwood informed the Committee that although the Annual Return had been signed off at the meeting in June, the external auditors had made some minor adjustments.

 

The external auditors had advised that an internal audit be carried since the last one took place in 2011.  P Dundon has advised that an internal audit had just been carried out.

 

It was also suggested that a separate bank account for Gwent Cremation be used rather than share the Newport City Council account.  The Chair asked for the views of the Committee and discussion ensued but it was agreed that there had never been any issue and no risk was attached to ring fencing the Gwent Cremation monies within the Newport City Council account.

 

Resolved:

§  That the changes to the Final Accounts be noted and signed off by the Chair.

§  That the Gwent Cremation monies remain in the Newport City Council account.

5.

Facilities Management

Oral update.

Minutes:

K Donovan, Newport Norse gave a brief overview on the works undertaken at the Crematorium.

 

Extra Sanctums had been requested and would be installed subject to weather conditions.

 

The front of the building was being refurbished with two thirds to be completed.  Work to the chapel had also been completed including fixing the damp patch.

 

Some of the external lights were missing which was part of the new build, these were on order and would be installed once received.

 

6.

Funeral Directors Report

To consider any issues raised by the local Funeral Directors.

Minutes:

Two questions were raised by Funeral Directors:

 

Tovey Bros Funeral Directors asked the Committee how would the Crematorium cope with the usual busy winter period and long waiting times.  This issue had been discussed on numerous occasions and P Dundon had advised that the spaces were available, a diary schedule for the forthcoming month showed plenty of spaces for service bookings.  This schedule was available on the website and made it evident to those wishing to book a service that there were no issues whatsoever with long waiting times.  Booking preferences might be an issue as there were usually popular booking slots in the day, however alternative times were available.

 

Resolved:

That the Committee would respond to Tovey Bros query in the form of a letter.

 

R Llewellyn Hughes wrote to the Committee regarding parking within the grounds. 

 

Resolved:

The Committee noted the letter.

 

 

7.

Manager's Report pdf icon PDF 156 KB

Minutes:

P Dundun gave an outline of the report to the Committee.

 

The website was receiving 4.5 to 5 thousand views, the main reason was for mapping information to find out where the Crematorium was located.

 

Memorial sales were unchanged, although there were lower purchases in December.

 

There were a further set of sanctum units installed which provided 48 vaults with an additional eight to be installed.

 

Cremation figures were higher than last year and there were a record number of cremations this year.  June and august were also record highs with a higher uptake on early morning cremation times.

 

The Book of Remembrance usage figures were still unreliable as there was an issue with the latest Windows software which was being looked into.

 

Karen Crawley was recently appointed as Deputy Manager and had already worked at the Crematorium for 12 years and was therefore adequately experienced.  A further internal appointment was made to replace Karen with a colleague from Cemeteries and so far had proven to be a valuable member of the team.

 

Cllr Huntley also mentioned that the recently appointed gardener was doing very well.

 

Finally, there was some good news regarding the Green Flag Award, the flag was raised on 9 August 2016 and members attended.

 

The Crematorium was also nominated for a Silver Award for the Charter of the Bereaved under the Good Funeral/Crematorium of the Year Category.  This however was won by Cardiff although Gwent had a runner up prize and was awarded a certificate.

 

8.

Meeting Dates for 2017

To agree the following dates for 2017:

 

2pm Wednesday 15 March, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 14 June, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 13 September, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 6 December, Committee Room 4

Minutes:

The following dates were agreed:

 

2pm Wednesday 15 March, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 14 June, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 13 September, Committee Room 4

2pm Wednesday 6 December, Committee room 4