Meeting documents
Venue: Cabinet Room, King George V House, King George V Road, Amersham. View directions
Contact: Bob Wearing 01494 732145; email: bwearing@chiltern.gov.uk
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Election of Chairman Minutes: Following a
question from Councillor T Green, Alan Goodrum confirmed that there was no
provision in the Committee’s Terms of Reference that required the Chairman to
be a member from Chiltern District Council. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Councillor D
Thompson felt that it was appropriate for the Chairman to be a member from CDC,
given that the Crematorium was in the District. It was moved by
Councillor N Rose, seconded by Councillor D Thompson and
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Election of Vice-Chairman Minutes: It was moved by
Councillor D Thompson, seconded by Councillor N Rose and
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To sign the Minutes of the Joint Committee held on 24 February 2010. Minutes: In connection with
minute 17 - Declarations of Interest - Councillor T Green referred to
correspondence sent to Councillor M Smith
clarified that his personal and prejudicial interest had arisen because of his
membership of a Committee set up by Chesham Bois Parish Council Subject to the
above, the Minutes of the meeting of the Joint Committee held on 24 February
2010 were agreed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record. |
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Declarations of Interest Minutes: There were no
declarations of interest. |
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Liaison Meeting with Persons Taking Services and Funeral Directors PDF 34 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee received the notes of the Liaison Meeting held on 20
May 2010. In connection with Minute 4 - Car Parking and Signage - the Joint
Committee, after concurring in the view expressed by the Superintendent that
using the area at the entrance to the Crematorium as an overflow car-park would
create some practical problems, agreed that no further action could be taken to
improve car parking. Arising from the third bullet point on Minute 6, the Superintendent
confirmed that the web-casting facility had gone live and had been used on a
few occasions. The Joint Committee, in recognising that it will take some time
for awareness of the equipment to become widespread, felt that it would be
useful for the facility to be demonstrated at the next Liaison Meeting. With regard to the date of the next Liaison Meeting, in 2011 the Joint
Committee noted that this would be dependent upon completion of the abatement
works. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Service Plan 2010 - 2011 PDF 28 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a copy of the Crematorium’s service plan for 2010/11. In connection with
Key Objectives for the next 3 years, the Joint Committee agreed with the
suggestion made by Councillor Green that the possibility of providing a
crematorium for animals/pets should be considered when a site for a new facility
in Aylesbury has been identified and plans were being developed.
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Milton Funeral Chapel: Completion of Building Works PDF 31 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a report providing further information on the work that had been
carried out in the Milton Funeral Chapel to repair the defect to the       floor.            The Joint Committee
noted with concern that the defect could be indicative of a more serious defect
relating to the sub-structure of the floor which could result in the Chapel
having to close to enable repairs to be carried out. The Superintendent, after
explaining that the Architects were progressing the
matter with the builders as            a
matter of urgency, said that he would keep the Joint Committee aware of    developments. The Clerk indicated that he
would be consulting the Joint Committee’s legal advisers on the issue.           Â
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Annual Audit Letter 2008/09 PDF 27 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee
receive a report attaching as an appendix the external auditor’s Annual Letter
in respect of the financial year 2008/09. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Statement of Accounts 2009/10 PDF 57 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a report on the Statement of Accounts 2009/10 and the Annual Governance
Statement for 2009/10. With regard to the
Statement of Accounts the report was broken down into three       sections as follows: ·
Explanatory
Forward, Accounting Policies and Statement of Responsibilities; ·
Core
Financial Statements including incomes and expenditure account; and ·
Annual
Governance Statement. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â After noting the
need for the Accounts to be formally approved by the Chairman, the Joint   Committee           Â
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Minutes: In accordance with
Standing Order 7 the Joint Committee received the Fifty Fifth Annual Report
which covered a number of issues including: ·
The
number of cremations; ·
Fees; ·
Staff;
and ·
Maintenance
of Buildings and Grounds           Â
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Introduction of Charges for Credit Card Payments PDF 43 KB Minutes: Chiltern District Council and Wycombe District Council had both recently
taken decisions to introduce charging for credit card payments to off set what
was becoming an increasing budgetary pressure through escalating bank charges
and Aylesbury Vale District Council were considering likewise. The Joint Committee considered a report setting out a proposal to impose
a charge on the credit card transactions carried out at the Crematorium. After noting that the number of transactions processed by credit card was
relatively small - less than a hundred in 2009/10 incurring bank charges of
approximately £500 - and after considering the options together with the
arguments for and against, the Joint Committee agreed in principle that a fee
of 1.6% should be charged for credit card payment transactions. As part of a strategy to encourage electronic payments, the Joint
Committee also agreed that the option of imposing a charge to cover the costs
of payments by cheques should be considered.
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Update on 2009/10 Audit Opinion Fee PDF 28 KB Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a report attaching a letter from the Audit Commission           indicating that they were satisfied
that the fee they had estimated for the 2009/10      audit of £9, 400 was appropriate and that no adjustment was
required at this stage. The Joint Committee was advised that the fee for
2008/09 had been £5,600. The Joint
Committee, after being advised that there was little they could do to challenge
the Audit            Commission’s
decision, expressed their dismay at the increase in the fee which had reached a
level out of proportion to the operation of the Committee. Authority was
delegated to the Chairman to write to the Audit Commission deploring the
increase in the audit fee. The Joint Committee
also agreed that investigations should be carried out to see if the Joint Committee could be changed to the
status of a Company. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Programme of Meetings The Audit Commission have suggested the following programme of meetings: - September - present annual audit letter (before 30 September) - December - no specific requirements - March - present fee letter for the next year's audit - June - agreement of the draft financial statements for the Crematorium  Minutes: In considering the
suggestion of the Audit Commission on dates for future meetings, the Joint
Committee saw no need to programme meetings for March or December. The Joint Committee
went on to agree that the next meeting be held on 23 September at 11am at CDC. |
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Exclusion of the Public To resolve that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following item(s) of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Act Minutes:
Note: The relevant paragraph number from Part I of Schedule 12A is
indicated at the end of the Minute heading. |
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Ancillary Works - Paragraph 7, 8 and 12 Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a report providing an update on the number of quotations that had  been received for the ancillary building works
and advising that         the relevant
procurement rules were being followed. Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Planned Preventative Maintenance (Condition Survey) - Paragraphs 7, 8 and 12 Minutes: The Joint Committee considered a report setting out the quotations that
had been received to carry out an independent structural, mechanical and
electrical survey of specific areas of the Crematorium. After expressing satisfaction with the
tendering procedure the Joint Committee supported the proposals in the report
and accordingly                       Â
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Site Search: Aylesbury Crematorium - Paragraphs 7, 8 and 12 Minutes: The Joint Committee received a report providing an update on the progress
made in identifying a site
for a proposed Crematorium in Aylesbury. Whilst considering the merits of the
five sites identified members expressed a preference for the site identified in
paragraph 4. (5). After agreeing that
the issue needed to be progressed as quickly as possible, the Joint Committee           Â
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Performance Related Pay Scheme - Paragraph 4 Minutes: The Joint Committee
received a report explaining that Chiltern District Council, through its
Personnel Committee and the Chiltern District Council and Staff Joint
Committee, was currently reviewing its Performance Related Pay Scheme with a
view to terminating it. Crematorium staff were covered by the Scheme and the Joint Committee was
asked to consider its approach to the issue. After asking for
further information on the cost of the Scheme in so far as it related to
Crematorium staff the Joint Committee           Â
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