Agenda item

Following a motion to the 13 January 2026 committee meeting, this report presents the outcome of a review of burial service provision within the district, specifically to consider whether same-day, 24-hour, weekend and out-of-hours burials could be facilitated where required by faith communities.

Recommendation:

That the Committee:

1.       notes the findings of the review into burial service provision;

2.       notes the findings of the public engagement exercise undertaken through the Have Your Say Three Rivers platform;

3.       notes the findings of the benchmarking exercise undertaken with neighbouring authorities;

4.       notes the operational, staffing, cemetery capacity and health and safety constraints affecting burial provision at Woodcock Hill Cemetery;

5.       supports the continuation of the current burial service arrangements whilst officers continue to work with funeral directors, faith leaders and bereaved families to accommodate burial requests wherever reasonably practicable; and

6.       notes that any future enhancement to service provision, including routine weekend, same-day or out-of-hours burials, would require additional staffing resources, revised operational arrangements and consideration through the Council's budget-setting process.

Following a motion to the 13 January 2026 meeting, the Environmental Services Manager introduced a report which presented the findings of the Council's review of burial service provision, including the needs of faith and other communities for timely burials.  The report summarised the public engagement and benchmarking which had been undertaken, as well as operational staffing and health and safety considerations.  Members were asked to note the findings, and to support the continuation of current arrangements with officers continuing to accommodate requests wherever reasonably practical.

A Committee Member questioned whether any discussions had taken place with communities as to what additional costs might be associated with out-of-hours burials, and whether members of those communities whose faith required such burials considered the additional fees to be reasonable.   Officers responded that detailed fee discussions had not taken place.  This was because cost was only one factor amongst several reasons why an out-of-hours burial service was not considered to be suitable for the district.  The other factors, principal amongst which was the unstable nature of the ground at the cemetery, overrode any cost considerations.  Where out-of-hours burials were offered, the usual practice was for graves to be dug in advance.  However, this was not possible at Woodcock Hill Cemetery as the unstable nature of the ground meant that pre-dug graves would collapse before they could be used. 

In response to a question about how the consultation process had been undertaken and its robustness given the relatively small number of responses, officers replied that they had approached BW Foundation, which managed the Muslim section of the cemetery, and had requested that they discuss it with the wider community and encourage participation in the consultation.  Accordingly, it had been raised at their monthly meeting at the cemetery.  The consultation had also been promoted amongst local funeral directors.  In spite of the efforts made, the response to the online consultation had not been very high.  All but one of the respondents to the online consultation was happy with the service currently offered.   It was further clarified that in addition to the online consultation, engagement had also been undertaken, in collaboration with the Council’s Equality Team, with other communities whose faith required or favoured timely burials.  The online consultation had therefore only formed part of the overall consultation process, which had also included engagement with representation from harder to reach communities.

Two Committee Members commented that they had each independently been in contact with group leaders of the two main faiths which held same-day burials as a religious obligation.  These faith group leaders had confirmed their satisfaction with the existing arrangements within the district and had also confirmed that they were content that there was sufficient provision in neighbouring areas (such as Watford and Bushey) which could be accessed for same day burials.

It was recommended that more detailed information about the soil conditions at Woodcock Hill Cemetery be shared with the BW Foundation, as well as the former councillor who was the originator of the motion, so that they were aware of the reasons for not pursuing an out-of-hours burial service.

The Chair moved the recommendations as set out in the report and on being put to the vote these were carried by general assent.

RESOLVED:

That the Committee:

1.       notes the findings of the review into burial service provision;

2.       notes the findings of the public engagement exercise undertaken through the Have Your Say Three Rivers platform;

3.       notes the findings of the benchmarking exercise undertaken with neighbouring authorities;

4.       notes the operational, staffing, cemetery capacity and health and safety constraints affecting burial provision at Woodcock Hill Cemetery;

5.       supports the continuation of the current burial service arrangements whilst officers continue to work with funeral directors, faith leaders and bereaved families to accommodate burial requests wherever reasonably practicable; and

6.       notes that any future enhancement to service provision, including routine weekend, same-day or out-of-hours burials, would require additional staffing resources, revised operational arrangements and consideration through the Council's budget-setting process.