Notes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Held on 28 April 2020

Notes of the Meeting of the Executive Committee Held on Tuesday 28th April 2020 (Held by video conference)

Present:

Cllr Isabel MattickBracknell Town Council Dave Clay Calderdale Council Cllr David Marren Cheshire East Council Steve Gant CMG Stuart ConnellyDudley MBC John ProffittEdinburgh Crematorium Ltd Mike Birkinshaw Redditch and Bromsgrove Council Ian KearnsScottish Sub Committee Alan JoséWesterleigh Group (President – Chair) Brendan Day - Secretary and Executive Officer Kate Waller -Resurgam Editor/Training Manager Michael May - Treasurer

The President welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for attending, what was a first for the Federation, a video conference meeting made necessary by the social distancing measures required by the government.

Election of Officers for 2020/2021

The Secretary chaired the meeting to elect the officers for 2020/21.

a)President:

It was proposed that the Deputy President, Cllr David Marren, should be elected as President for 2020/2021.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

b)Deputy President:

It was proposed that Michael Birkinshaw should be elected as Deputy President 2020/2021.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

1.Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Ted Latham, Margam Crematorium.

2.Declarations of Interest

The President, Alan José, declared an interest in being a Director of the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management. There were no other declarations of interest.

3.Minutes of the NEC Meeting held on 12th December 2019

The minutes had been circulated by the Secretary prior to the meeting, these were approved by the meeting and signed by the Chairman.

4.Matters arising

It was noted that a report under Item 7, ‘Decision making and constitutional review’, to be brought back to this meeting has had to be delayed due to the current circumstances. It was agreed that the report would be brought back to a future meeting of this committee.

It was also agreed that Item 13 ‘Dates of Future Meetings’ was no longer correct and may have to be amended further to take account of the current circumstances.

5.Pandemic response

A report had been circulated by the Secretary prior to the meeting, which the meeting welcomed. The President thanked the Secretary for his proactive response in keeping members informed and working with other organisations in the creation of Deceased Management Advisory Group (DMAG).

The Secretary highlighted several issues in his report including the difficulty in planning the sector response when no modelling had been issued by government. To provide comfort to government, working with the ICCM, two surveys had been undertaken which had demonstrated the sector had sufficient capacity. Furthermore, crematoria can provide shorter services, 7 days per week if required, but this had not been necessary. Confirming that, whilst funeral directors may not have resources to use available slots at crematoria, there is sufficient cremation capacity to meet the increase in death rate.

The need to work for seven days a week would have to be a local decision, based on a risk assessment to protect the health and wellbeing of the operators.

The development of the DMAG has proved extremely successful in bringing the major organisations representing the sector together. Meeting each day and having government departments dialling in has provided a unique opportunity for the Federation to build relationships with key sector stakeholders.

The Crematorium Compliance Scheme inspections had to be temporarily suspended due to government restrictions on movement.

Due to the current restrictions it was unlikely that the Joint Conference would be able to proceed in June as planned. The conference organisers, Fuse, had agreed with the hotel a package for event to take place in June 2021 at the same rate and with no financial penalty. Providing the Cremation Society agreed it was felt that postponing the event would provide delegates, speakers, and exhibitors with certainty.

It was proposed that: The Joint Conference for 2020 be cancelled and that it be held in June 2021 at the Hilton Ageas Bowl Southampton.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

As it had been proposed to hold the Federation AGM during the Joint Conference it would now be necessary to make alternative arrangements. If the social distancing arrangements had not been relaxed it maybe necessary to use a larger room so that attendees could sit 2m apart or alternatively it maybe necessary to hold a video conference.

It was proposed that: The Secretary and Treasurer make the necessary arrangements, to hold the AGM in October, either online or physically depending on any restrictions in force and the requirements of the Constitution.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

6.Resurgam Editor’s Report

A report had been circulated by the Secretary prior to the meeting. The availability of the printer, who is restricted by the current lockdown requirements, will determine when the next issue of Resurgam can go to print.

The report was noted.

7.Training Manager’s Report

A report had been circulated by the Secretary prior to the meeting. The Training Manager added that since circulating the report a further two enrolments and three certificates had been issued.

The President welcomed the speed with which the scheme had been amended to reflect the current circumstances and the importance of being able to provide training during these difficult times.

It was noted from the report that the workload associated with the Training Manager’s role had increased and should be reviewed. It was suggested that this should be delegated to two members of the National Executive Committee.

It was proposed that: The post of Training Manager and associated honorarium be reviewed by the President, Deputy President, Secretary and Treasurer

8.Scottish Sub-Committee Report

Due to the lock down restrictions the meeting scheduled for March had to be cancelled and this will be rescheduled when circumstances permit.

The FBCA had been represented on the Scottish Government Additional Deaths Oversight Group. It has been very useful to get the views from all the different sectors represented on the group and to be able to represent the views of Burial and Cremation Authorities. There had been a concern at the start of the pandemic that delays at crematoria could place additional pressure on mortuaries. However, the Federation representative was able to advise that the source of the delays was the Registration Service. As a result, Registrars increased the availability of death registration to reduce the backlog.

The key issue remains ensuring there is sufficient mortuary capacity and where the situation had been critical the pressure had now reduced.

The Inspector of Crematoria has been extremely active, checking with individual sites, obtaining data on the number of cremations being carried out and the availability of service times. He has been extremely supportive of the sector.

9.Accounts

10.

A copy of the audited accounts had been circulated prior to the meeting. The Treasurer took the those present through the detail of the accounts. The income and expenditure were much in line with the budget discussed by the committee at its December meeting. There had been an increase in expenditure associated with the increased number of crematoria inspected during 2019. The accounts have received a clean report from the auditors and will be signed off following their adoption by the committee.

It was proposed that: The accounts be adopted.

The motion was unanimously agreed.

11.Date of future meetings.

Provisional video meeting Tuesday 10am 30th June.

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