Agenda and minutes

None.

There were no declarations of interests notified.

It was confirmed that all items on the agenda marked as Part 1 would be considered in public.

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2012 were agreed as an accurate record.

The Chairman welcomed Raj Alagh - Borough Solicitor & Monitoring Officer, Ed Shaylor - Service Manager for Anti-Social Behaviour & Investigations, Mr Robert Morrow - HC Grimstead Funeral Directors, Hayes, Mr Simon and Nigel Murray - A Cain Funeral Directors and PC Ashley Webber - Safer Neighbourhood Team, West Drayton, for attending the meeting as witnesses to enable the Committee to gather evidence for their Review of Regulations and Byelaws relating to Cemeteries and Burial Grounds within Hillingdon. 

The following points were raised in relation to the Cemetery Regulations:

·        The 1994 Cemetery Regulations had been reviewed as they were no longer fit for purpose

·        The current revised draft was 20 pages long but an easy to read summary would be produced

·        A few changes had been made around the issue of penalties that may be imposed for breach of regulations, such as people entering cemeteries after closing hours could now be prosecuted and having to pay a maximum of £100 fine - this would show that the Council was taking the issue seriously

·        There would be a £10 daily fine if such offence continued after the day of order

·        Exclusive rights was now set at a maximum period of 70 years – now commonly set by other local authorities

·        The regulation was compliant with the Local Authorities’ Cemeteries Order 1977 and Local Authorities’ Cemeteries (Amended) Order 1986 and were satisfied that they were within the spirit of the order

·        The revised version was now much more fit for purpose

·        There had been no known prosecution (one of the failings of the previous system) – the revised rules and  regulations would be more enforceable

·        There was now a need to raise awareness of the regulation – the full document would be used as a background document

·        Highlighted that enforcement necessitated the provision of names and addresses and therefore, the Council would need to work in conjunction with the Police, as they held the power to make arrests

·        Stressed that in order to achieve successful enforcement there was a need for the best evidence to be attained

·        Only Police Officers had the power to demand names and addresses

·        The draft revised Rules and Regulations would be circulated to Committee Members for comments.

The following comments were made with regard to anti-social behaviour (ASB):

• The Police were usually present at large traveller funerals to assist with traffic flow
• That SNTs were recruited for each specific area
• That there were traveller liaison officers at West Drayton who had developed a very good rapour with families and were a familiar face to those families
•  That Policing was prioritised and SNTs would generally try to be on hand to deal with local on-going issues and would give back up when called upon to do so where ever possible
•  That the Police did not usually receive many calls regarding issues relating to cemeteries
• Patrolled West Drayton Cemetery every couple of shifts and had arrested a few people and forcibly removed one or two people on two occasions
• Suggested that  ...  view the full minutes text for item 38.

Members discussed the possible topics for their second review and put forward the following topics:

• Pest infestation 
• Control and Enforcement of Noise/Nuisance and;
• Licensing of Shisha Lounges/cafe

It was agreed that the topic relating to the Licensing of Shisha Lounges/café would need to be undertaken over a longer period of time than was currently available and should therefore be looked at in 2013/2014.

Members requested officers to make a presentation/provide a short briefing on the topics of Pest Infestation and Control and Enforcement of Noise Nuisance at the meeting on 6 December 2012, to assist them in selecting a second review topic

Resolved

That officers should to provide a briefing/make a presentation on the topics of Pest Infestation and Control and Enforcement of Noise Nuisance at the meeting on 6 December 2012.

Resolved – That the Statement of Gambling Principles Review – Consultation be noted with no comments to add.

Members commented that whilst the report was welcomed, it would be useful for officers to provide a brief statement highlighting any problems that may have been received with actions taken relating to individual sports grounds.

Resolved – That the Annual Safety at Sports Grounds report be noted.

The Committee agreed the Work Programme for 2012/13.

The Committee agreed the Forward Plan.