This meeting was about approving budgets and fees for the North East Surrey Crematorium. The report pack included proposed charges for cremations and memorials, as well as budgets for the crematorium itself and for its management agreement with Wandsworth Council. The report pack also included the surveyor's report and an update on the conclusion of the external audit of the crematorium's accounts.

Cremation Fees

The Board was asked to approve the cremation fees for 2025. The report pack proposes freezing fees at 2024 levels, so the standard cremation fee would remain at £700. This decision is informed by the fact that energy costs are expected to decrease substantially and by a desire to keep the crematorium's charges competitive. The report pack notes that the Board's charges are already among the lowest in the country. The fees for ancillary cremation services are to be calculated on a formulaic basis, based on the standard cremation fee.

Memorial Fees

The report pack recommends increasing the lease/dedication and maintenance fees element of the charges for multi-year memorials by £2 per year. This would increase the cost from £30 to £32 per annum. The charge for single-year renewals would be increased by £3 from £50 to £53. The Treasurer is recommending that they are given the authority to set all other memorial fees.

Surveyor's Report

The Surveyor's report included an update on the management of the crematorium since the last meeting in September 2024. It says that the crematorium has received two written compliments since the last meeting. It also notes that one cremator technician has resigned and that a new trainee technician has been appointed. Finally, the report says that the contract between Wandsworth Council and Enable Leisure and Culture for the provision of bereavement services at Morden Cemetery, including the crematorium, will expire in April 2025 and that a recommendation to extend the contract for another five years will be made to Wandsworth Council's Environment and Overview Scrutiny Committee on 26 November 2024.

Management Agreement Budgets

The Board was asked to approve the budget for the management agreement between the crematorium and Wandsworth Council. The report pack says that the revised budget for 2024/25 is £830,000, which is a decrease of £3,000 from the original budget. The original budget for 2025/26 is £810,000, which is a decrease of £20,000 from the revised budget for 2024/25. The report pack says that the decrease is mainly due to an anticipated reduction in the cost of gas.

Board's Annual Budgets

The Board was asked to approve the annual budget for 2024/25 and 2025/26. The revised budget for 2024/25 is £1.109 million and the original budget for 2025/26 is £1.099 million. The budgets include provisions for inflation and for major works and projects.

Distribution of Surplus Balances

The report pack recommends distributing £400,000 of the Board's surplus balances to its constituent councils. It proposes distributing this money in line with the councils’ respective council tax bases, with £105,604.23 being distributed to Merton Council, £100,733.02 to Sutton Council and £193,662.75 to Wandsworth Council. This would leave the Board with a total projected balance of £1,001,403.

Conclusion of the External Audit

The report pack notes that the external audit of the crematorium's accounts for 2023/24 has been completed and that the auditor, PKF Littlejohn LLP, did not raise any concerns. The Board was asked to approve the audited Annual Governance and Accountability Return ¹ for the year ended 31 March 2024.