Purpose

It is proposed that the
customer accessible office at Southport Crematorium is closed 4
days per week to the public, and open 1 day per week for
enquiries.
This proposal has come about
due to staffing restrictions on the service as well as service
costs, infrastructure on site, changes in workload/patterns, the
advance of technology and the under-utilisation of the publicly
accessible office at Southport.

Decision

Decision(s):
 
That the Southport Crematorium office opening
days/hours be reduced during the working week (Monday –
Friday).
 
Reason(s) for the
Decision(s):
 
The Burials and Cremations Service has
operated 2 offices in the borough, the main office is at Thornton
Garden of Rest Crematorium with the 2nd office being at Southport
Crematorium.
 
In previous years the service that operated
from Thornton Crematorium accommodated all funerals taking place in
the South of the borough while at Southport Crematorium, bookings
were taken for all funerals taking place in the north of the
borough.
 
Recently with the advance of technology and
change in personnel, changes have been made to ensure continuity in
service provision, previously there was a lot of silo-working
within the service however this has significantly been reduced
following the restructure 2.5 years ago.
 
Staff are now fully trained in all aspects of
the administration service; therefore, a burial or cremation can be
booked in either office for any site that the bereavement services
operate.
         
As per the Service Vision to 2030 it is the
responsibility of the service to ensure that the public have access
to a front-line service from anywhere in the borough whether this
is through the use of technology, in person, or via the
internet.
 
Alternative Options
Considered and Rejected
 
An alternative option considered was to have
the office open more than 1 day per week but not 5 days per week
however this was deemed ineffective for cost saving.
 
Or
 
To have the office continue 5 days per week
and continue to have a reduction in usage.