Agenda item

Joint Report the Corporate Director: Regeneration and Local Services and the Corporate Director: Resources / Treasurer to the Joint Committee.

The Principal Accountant referred Members to Fees and Charges 2017/18 report (for copy see file of minutes).

Councillors were reminded that in 2016/17 the Joint Committee had agreed to an increase of £20 to the cremation fee (3.3%).  Members recalled that in a previous year the Joint Committee had agreed to hold the fees at a standstill position, to take into account the improvement works that were being carried out at that time and also Mountsett Crematorium Joint Committee had agreed to hold their fees to maintain harmonised charges across County Durham.  It was explained that as Mountsett were in the process of carrying out improvement works it was proposed that the Joint Committee would reciprocate and hold charges at Durham.  It was added that it was proposed that the fee for child cremations remained as a nil charge, and that the two-tier charges as regards chapel only use, as previously discussed, would be applied.  For information, benchmarking data was attached at Appendix 3

Resolved:

(i)          That the proposed fees and charges as set out at Appendix 2 to the report be approved and be effective from 1 April 2017, seeking to        maintain the cremation charges at existing levels.

(ii)         That the approved fees and charges be incorporated into the 2017/18         Budget.