A RECENT decision by senior Pembrokeshire councillors on a review in the way crematorium services in the county will be delivered is to be revisited following a ‘call-in’ by members of the Conservative group.
At a special meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet to be held on June 22, members will consider a May Cabinet decision on crematorium services in the county.
A report for members says at the March meeting of the council’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee it was resolved to recommend that Cabinet undertake a review of fees and charges at Parc Gwyn Crematorium, with particular regard to the cost of direct cremation, and that Cabinet commission a comprehensive review of the crematorium’s future operational model, with the findings to be reported to the committee for consideration and scrutiny prior to any final Cabinet decision.
At the May meeting of Cabinet, members agreed to review fees and charges at Parc Gwyn along with a review of service delivery, efficiency and value for money, excluding alternative operating models, the report says.
An extraordinary meeting of Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee was held in response to a call-in from 11 councillors, all member of the council’s Conservative group, saying the Cabinet report materially altered the original scrutiny recommendation, the decision was not supported by sufficient evidence or benchmarking, financial considerations relating to “surplus” and “profit” were improperly weighted, alternative operational models were prematurely excluded, and that further scrutiny is required.
That committee agreed the matter be referred back to Cabinet for reconsideration.
The report for Cabinet members says: “Members who requested the call-in were dissatisfied with the way the issue was presented to Cabinet in regards to the second recommendation, which although was presented in full in the Cabinet paper, the officer recommendation removed the element relating to the review of the operating model.
“Members queried if Cabinet were given a fair opportunity to consider the merits of a full operational review. It was suggested that the officer report led Cabinet towards their conclusion by recommending against the operating model review.
“Whilst referral was made to the call-in not being in relation to privatisation, members in the previous services overview and scrutiny committee meeting had discussed this as a potential future option which resulted in the recommendation to review the operating model.”
The report says there “are well-established and unavoidable cost factors associated with any change in delivery model,” adding: “Should Cabinet now agree to include this aspect of the recommendation, Members should be aware that this will require the commissioning of an external consultant to carry out the review, expected to cost an estimated £30,000, financed from existing crematorium reserves.”
Members are recommended to review the previous decision.
