Purpose

To seek approval to cease the manual turning of the Book of Remembrance (BOR) pages at Thornton and Southport Crematoria at weekends and on bank holidays.

To outline the financial, operational and service delivery considerations informing this proposal.

Decision

Decision(s):

1. The approved cessation of manual BOR page turning at weekends and on bank holidays, be noted.
2. It be noted that the BOR will remain available online and continue to be turned during normal weekday operating hours.
3. The financial savings and operational efficiencies achieved through this change, be noted.

Reasons for the recommendation:

The Council is required to make difficult decisions to ensure services remain financially sustainable.

The manual turning of BOR pages at weekends and on bank holidays represents a discretionary service that can no longer be supported within existing resources.

The availability of the BOR online provides an appropriate and accessible alternative for service users.

Approval of this proposal will enable Bereavement Services to deliver necessary savings while maintaining core service provision.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

Continue as current, however this is inefficient.