Agenda Item: 2 Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee A REPORT OF THE COMMUNITY AND ADULT SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE Bereavement Strategy – An examination of Council’s provision of bereavement services and the need for a Bereavement Strategy. FEBRUARY 2005 County Council of The City and County of Cardiff Report of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee Task & Finish Inquiry - Bereavement Strategy ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………………….. 2 FOREWORD…………………………………………………………………………. 3 TERMS OF REFERENCE..………………………………………………………… 4 KEY FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………… 4 SERVICE PROVISION……………………………………………………….. 4 CREMATORIUM ISSUES……………………………………………………... 5 CEMETERY ISSUES…………………………………………………………... 5 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES………………………………………………………… 7 RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………………………………………. 7 CONTEXT OF BEREAVEMENT SERVICES …………………………………… 9 THE RANGE OF SERVICES…………………………………………………. 9 BUDGET………………………………………………………………………… 11 LEGISLATION………………………………………………………………….. 11 POSITION OF CARDIFF IN NATIONAL LEAGUE TABLE……………….. 12 INQUIRY METHODOLOGY ………………………………………………………. 13 ISSUES ARISING FROM THE INQUIRY ………………………………………… 13 SERVICE PROVISION………………………………………………………… 13 CREMATORIUM ISSUES…………………………………………………….. 15 CEMETERY ISSUES………………………………………………………….... 18 LEGISLATIVE ISSUES……………………………………………………….… 22 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS…………………………………………………………… 22 FINANCIAL IMPLICATION………………………………………………………… 23 COMMUNITY & ADULT SERVICES SCRUTINY COMMITTEE 24 MEMBERSHIP……….……………………………………………………………… Page 2 of 25 Report of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee Task & Finish Inquiry - Bereavement Strategy ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FOREWORD about how highly respected the Council’s Bereavement staff are for their In recent years the subject of ‘cemetery professionalism. and crematorium services’ has become more important nationally. The key findings and recommendations as detailed in this report, if fully accepted and In response to the mounting issues on implemented, will help to prepare a strategy cemeteries the Government agreed that that will develop this service over the next there is a need to review all aspects of 10 years and help to move Cardiff County burial law, and the Home Office published Council to a position of having a a consultation document titled Burial Law Bereavement Service that is well delivered st and Policy in the 21st Century published in and fit for the 21 Century and Europe’s 2004. It is anticipated that an initial report youngest Capital City. on the findings will be published this spring. I commend this report to the Executive as Scrutiny’s positive contribution to the review I would suggest that the timing of this of this vital part of the Council’s services. report makes it entirely appropriate for Cardiff Council to start to consider a Councillor Brian Finn review of its own Bereavement Service Chairperson of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny provision. Committee In anticipation of the Bereavement Strategy proposed in the Corporate Plan 2004/05 this topic was suggested at the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee for a Task and Finish inquiry. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the various witnesses that gave up their time to present to the T & F Group, it is significant to note from the comments made by many of the inquiry witnesses Page 3 of 25 Report of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee Task & Finish Inquiry - Bereavement Strategy ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ TERMS OF REFERENCE some time. The service deals with over 4000 funerals and has over 700,000 visitors to its facilities each year. For The Community and Adult Scrutiny comparison, Cardiff’s busiest Leisure Committee established a Task and Finish Centre, Llanishen, has on average Group to examine bereavement services 500,000 visitors per year. This service at its meeting in September 2004. At that does not appear to feature in any of the meeting the Committee agreed the Council’s overarching policies, most following terms of reference: significantly the Cardiff Community To consider issues relating to Strategy 2004-14. Bereavement Services and contribute to the development of a strategy for this 3. Cardiff is presently ranked 22 out of 82 service. in the Institute of Cemetery & Crematorium Management’s league KEY FINDINGS table of authorities that provide both burial and cremation services. The The key findings from this inquiry are: ICCM run the ICCM Excellence Recognition Scheme for any Service Provision organization that manages cemeteries 1. Bereavement Services is a key front and crematoria, and adoption of this line service and the staff were praised scheme could assist Cardiff in improving by all the witnesses for their its position still further in the league helpfulness and the quality of service table. and customer care that they deliver to the bereaved family, and how well they 4. Witnesses suggested that the literature work with the professionals involved in and publications that are used in the the delivery of funeral services and delivery of the services, and produced to memorial provision. advertise the services and the options available to bereaved families, could be 2. Bereavement Services has a very poor simplified and distributed more profile in comparison with many other effectively. Council front line services, even though it is a service that is likely to touch most Cardiff residents’ lives at Page 4 of 25 Report of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee Task & Finish Inquiry - Bereavement Strategy ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Crematorium Issues repairs and upgrades to the roof and the 5. The buildings at Thornhill crematorium electrical system from being undertaken. are now over 50 years old and have The electrical system is prone to failure been allowed to deteriorate to a poor due to surges in the local domestic condition structurally. They also need supply and therefore needs a dedicated updating from a design and supply. The buildings are over 50 years appearance perspective. The old and with investment now could have deterioration of facilities has a number their life extended for a reasonable of effects: period. • Creates a negative impression of Cardiff and the Council to the Cemetery Issues thousands of visitors and residents 7. Burial space capacity has reached a that attend funerals each year. near critical point in both of the City’s • Reduces the potential to compete largest cemeteries and, if unaddressed, with neighbouring facilities, which this will mean that within 3-4 years is likely to be exacerbated if the Thornhill cemetery will be full, closely application to build a new private followed by Western cemetery where crematorium in the Vale of within 5 years there will be no space left Glamorgan is approved. for new burials. This situation has been • Makes the continued delivery of accelerated by Cardiff’s development. high quality funeral services difficult The population of Cardiff has increased for both the staff and the other by approximately 95,000 since the last professionals involved. cemetery at Thornhill was opened in 1953. Although the UDP makes 6. The last upgrade to the crematorium reference to the need for additional was 5 years ago when the cremators cemetery space, unlike the preceding were replaced, and the Crematorium Local Plan, it makes no commitment to Improvement Fund funded this. There build one. The increase in demand for has been no other capital investment burial space from new developments in the facilities at Thornhill as far back has not been a feature of Section 106 as records show, despite the existence Agreements agreed in planning of the Crematorium Improvement Fund obligations. that now contains £500,000. This lack of investment has prevented essential Page 5 of 25 Report of the Community and Adult Services Scrutiny Committee Task & Finish Inquiry - Bereavement Strategy ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Presently the reuse of grave space is on this issue, but it remains one that not permitted in Cardiff but this has continues to generate letters of been the only way some other complaint to Members and needs authorities have been able to deal with careful handling. The pilot scheme at demand for burial space. It is Pantmawr cemetery has been very anticipated that the Home Office, successful and the Service Area want to following the consultation exercise that extend it to all the cemeteries; to was undertaken in 2004, will publish achieve this changes would have to be guidance on grave reuse soon. made to the Cemetery Regulations. 9. Cardiff’s charges for burial are on a 11. Cathays cemetery is the oldest in par with other Welsh Authorities but for Cardiff, opened in 1859 as a Garden cremation charges Cardiff is higher. Cemetery, and contains many When compared nationally with interesting historical features. It has benchmark authorities Cardiff is been closed for burial since 1989 even cheaper for both. This is especially though there are potentially 2000 more notable with regard to burial costs grave spaces available, and burials in where other authorities’ charges are family graves