2022

CEM0152 - Risk of exposure to Hepatitis B 

A member authority is aware that those working in the cemetery / crematorium environment are at risk of exposure to hepatitis B.

Therefore, they are enquiring regarding how does your authority / organisation manage this risk?

Do you provide vaccinations for your team members?

Please provide copies of any risk assessments / management plans.

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CEM0151 - Building a new cemetary

A member authority is interested in talking to others that have had to plan and construct a new cemetery in the last 5 years.

They are just starting that journey and wish to learn from someone who has been through the process, especially if there has been pressure from any religious groups.

They would also like to know whether there was any hurdles in relation to the Environment Agency and ground water protection.

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CEM0150 - Cemetery memorial policies

A member authority is currently reviewing their memorial policy and would be interested to receive any information on the following issues:

• Types of memorial eg benches, picnic tables, trees, others & types of materials eg recycled plastics?

• Locations eg council parks & cemeteries •Costs – do you add installation & maintenance costs on to cost of memorial also?

• Fees & charges - do you have a differential rate for residents / non-residents – if so how much / percentage differentiation?

• What is the length of time for an agreement & any conditions? Does this include maintenance and if so at what frequency?

• Suppliers – do you have a contract with one supplier?

• Do you allow donators to source their own memorials?

• How many sites do you currently offer for memorials?

• How many memorials do you have?

• Do you have a waiting list and if so for how many?

• Anything else?

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CEM0149 - Insurance cover for crematoria

A member authority is currently reviewing their crematorium insurance policies.

With this in mind they world be interested to know from colleagues:

• What type and level of insurance cover colleagues have on their crematorium (building and site) - do they have equipment failure, theft, loss of income, cost of replacement of site / equipment? Anything else not shown?

• How much cover do they have (values).

• Which insurer do they use and is this the same as the overarching insurance provider for their organisation.

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CEM0148 - Crematoria policies and procedures

A member authority has recently opened their first crematoria and are looking to develop a series of policies to support the crematoria.

They would be therefore interested to receive any policies or procedures you use in the operation of your crematoria service.

They would be particularly keen to receive examples of : •environmental impact, •rural-proofing, •strategic impact assessments, •data protection, •health and equality impacts etc. •opening hours, •general crematoria rules and operating regs. If you think you have any other policies which you think are important/useful they would be grateful to receive copies of these also.

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CEM0147 - Recycling Facilities in cemetries

A member authority is interested to know whether other local authorities have separate general waste and recycling bins for public use on their cemetery sites.

If so-how do you encourage the public to use them correctly and is sorting required prior to collection.

They would also be interested to know whether you provide signage to guide the public to recycle their waste materials.

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CEM0146 - Burial Software

A member authority is looking to invest in replacement burial software, and would like to know about the programmes that other authorities currently use or have recommendations for.

At a basic level, they would like to incorporate data transfer, cemetery mapping, grave and burial records, inputting booked interments/diary management, and producing memorial permits and digging slips.

Any advice or practical working examples currently being used would be greatly received.

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CEM0145 - Wildflower areas in cemeteries

A member authority is interested to know if other authorities have designated wildflower areas on their cemetery sites. If so:

• Are these on used burial land (such as public graves therefore no memorials etc)?

• Do you have any signage?

• Was there any consultation with the public prior to sowing?

• Is there any public feedback?

• How is the area managed?

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CEM0144 - Motion Activated Camera Around Graves

A member authority is experiencing increasing incidents of families placing Motion Activated CCTV Cameras around their graves in Cemeteries due to the theft of grave items or removal of items due to family disputes.

The instillation of such cameras has resulted in complaints from other visitors to the area.

The enquiring authority would therefore be interested to know if other Authorities are experiencing the same and if they have any policies or guidance they would be willing to share around how they deal with Motion Activated CCTV Cameras and their removal etc.

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CEM0143 - Exclusive Rights Of Burials

A member authority like to know whether any member authorities have reduced Exclusive Rights Of Burials to 1 per person over 18+ and capped the number of children’s plots that can be purchased?

If this is the case:

• When did they put this in place?

• How long for?

• What was the feedback?

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CEM0142 - Crematorium Policies

A member authority is looking for information from , specifically cremation authorities, as to whether their authority has a crematorium policy (or set of policies) and if they would be willing to share those with the enquirer.

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CEM0141 - Tree dedication/memorial policies

A member authority has received a request from Councillors to draft a Tree dedication/memorialisation Policy following recent requests from residents to have a memorial trees in a public open space.

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CEM0140 - Contraventions on lawned cemeteries

A member authority is interested to learn how other local authorities deal with contraventions on lawn cemeteries, in particular:

• what processes have other authorities introduced to sensitively manage unauthorised items placed on graves in lawn cemeteries.

• How are the contraventions being enforced and how is reputation, safety & communications being managed.

• What proactive measures are they using to reduce this issue, inc. public awareness, information and signage

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CEM0139 - Local authorities no longer providing burial space

A Council in an area of high land values is struggling to find, or viably purchase land for a new cemetery.

As background to decision making and researching options, and given burials are not a statutory duty, the Council is interested to know if any members know of any local authorities who do not, or who have decided not to continue providing burial space.

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CEM0138 - Use of chambers for burials

A member authority is looking for information from other local authorities who use chambers for burials, They are particularly interested to know

1. The manufacturer and type

2. The number they have installed and how long they have been in situ

3. Whether they installed them in house or had an external company to install

4. How they have been received by members of the public 5. If they have had any installation or maintenance issues

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CEM0136 - Cemetery Software Systems

A member authority’s cemetery team is currently working from two different software systems for the storage of cemeteries service data.

They are looking to migrate all of the existing cemetery information into one place, along with maps and the option to scan documents.

They have 5 cemeteries and a gardens of remembrance for ashes plots only. They are therefore looking for advice or information from any member authority who has such a system in place.

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CEM0135 - Memorandum of Understanding

A member authority has noted that during the pandemic there were points whereby it would have been useful to be able to get / give assistance to colleagues in other local authorities.

The enquiring authority is therefore looking to write a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) to establish such a partnership with surrounding local authorities.

They are therefore interested to know if any other local authorities have such MOU’s and, if so, if they can provide copies which may help the enquiring authority to develop their own MOU.

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CEM0133 - Digging of new and re-opening of graves - methods of operation - 110222

A member authority operates a policy where all new graves are dug by machine and all reopened graves are dug by hand, mainly due to access problems where they are surrounded by existing graves.

They would be interested to hear from other authorities on their policy on digging reopened graves.

Also where this method is used if there are any particular problems they have experienced.

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CEM0132 - Average price of the gas used per cremation - 010222

A member authority is currently reviewing the cost of gas used in their cremators and would be interested to know what the average price of the gas used per cremation is at other authorities crematoria.

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CEM0131 - Providing land for the burial of the Quran - 170122

A member authority’s Bereavement Services has been approached by the local Muslim community to enquire about purchasing an area of land for burial of the Quran. They have agreed to look into this and have found that according to Islamic historian Michael Cook, ‘the Quran should be wrapped in cloth and buried on holy ground where it is unlikely to be trampled on or "safely" placed where it is unlikely to come into contact with impurity. ... Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith in Islam’.

The enquiring authority is therefore interested to know if any other authorities been approached to perform Quran burials within their cemetery grounds? If so:

• How did they record the burial in their records?
• Did they use allocated grave space or an area unsuitable for new graves adjacent to burial plots?

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CEM0130 - Pay rates for cemetery maintenance and grave digging staff - 170122

A member authority is currently reviewing their cemetery maintenance and grave digging service.

As part of this review they are examining salaries and T&Cs for the posts responsible for delivering these services.

They are therefore looking for information as to the rates other local authorities pay and in fact whether there is a recognised ‘industry standard’ salary for these posts?

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CEM0129 - Alternative recyclable materials regarding floral displays - 110122

A member authority is enquiring if any other authorities have anything in place to encourage environmentally friendly floral arrangements or discourage those that aren’t.

They have been looking at this issue for a while but have yet to come up with a solution.

They understand that the oasis used in displays is not biodegradable and they have received information that the frames used for the “DAD” and “GRANNY” type displays are not recyclable or re-usable so are basically single-use plastics.

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CEM0128 - Memorial Testing procedure - making memorials safe - 110122

A member authority is currently updating their memorial safety testing procedure to ensure they can adhere to the statutory 5 year rolling programme timeline.

They currently record all information on a GPS machine and this data is then mapped on GIS, however, it is the resultant ‘making memorials safe’ aspect which they are looking for examples of best practice guidance on in order to streamline their procedures.

At the moment they operate within 5 open cemeteries and 12 closed churchyards.

Specific areas of interest are:

• Do you advertise in the press/social media that you will be carrying out memorial safety testing prior to beginning?
• Having identified an unstable/unsafe memorial, what is your standard procedure e.g. mark the headstone with warning signage to identity to the family that they need to take action to make it safe; lay the unsafe headstone down immediately; cordon the unsafe headstone off
• Do you use a structural engineer to test headstones that are over 2.5m in height?
• What methods do you use in order to track those memorials which require re-testing after a 12-month period? Are there any specific electronic systems which are particularly good for this purpose?
• In terms of administration, what procedures do you have in place for analysing the data and contacting the Exclusive Right owners of any unstable/unsafe memorials?
• Do you carry out checks on memorials after the grave owners have been informed of their responsibility to make the headstone safe – to ensure they adhere to NAMM regulations?