Further to Minute 6 of the meeting held on 14 June 2021, the Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report presenting the results of the Bereavement Services Public Consultation on the draft Cemetery and Crematorium Rules and Regulations.  The following documents were attached to the report:

·       Appendix 1 – Cemetery and Crematorium Rules and Regulations Sept 2021

·       Appendix 2 – Consultation Summary Report

·       Appendix 3 – Equality Impact Assessment Report

The report explained that the Rules and Regulations attached at Appendix 1 set out the proposed operations and service provision for the Cemetery and Crematorium.  They had been the subject of public consultation and had been updated in light of the feedback and to ensure the Council could provide a service that met the needs of the communities of Reading, where it was reasonable and practical to do so. The changes made addressed both faith and non-faith needs.  The report set out and explained the rationale for changes made following the consultation, which included changes to the following aspects of the service: Extended Opening Times, Out of Hours Service and Grave Types.

The report noted that the public consultation feedback included that inconsistent or lack of enforcement was unfair, caused issues for other users and was potentially discriminative. The approval of the revised Rules and Regulations would allow for stricter enforcement and enable the cemetery management to address some of the historic issues and attempt to mitigate the impact.  On this basis, it was recommended that no further ad hoc changes be permitted and that any request that sat outside the Rules and Regulations must be either declined or submitted formally as a policy change and proceed through the formal decision-making processes.  It was accepted that over time changes might need to be made and therefore the Rules & Regulations would be subject to a formal review every three years.

Resolved –

(1)      That the revised Cemetery & Crematorium Rules & Regulations as set out at Appendix 1 be approved;

(2)      That the changes to the Service provision as summarised in the report be approved;

(3)      That the Cemetery & Crematorium Rules and Regulations be reviewed every three years with the next review to take place in September 2024;

(4)      That the Council’s position, in respect of one-off requests which sat outside of the Rules and Regulations, be that no further ad hoc changes be permitted, and that if any request was received that sat outside the Rules and Regulations, it must be either declined or submitted formally as a Policy change and proceed through the formal decision-making processes;

(5)      That the Assistant Director for Corporate Improvement and Customer Services be delegated authority to make non-material changes to the Rules & Regulations, to ensure the Service could act swiftly to implement any essential operating changes.