Papers & Speakers

As we climb out of the depths of COVID and move towards the light, now is a good time to reflect on what we could have done better. This paper considers a specific aspect for the sector that we are in, that is how information technology can be used to preserve and protect the integrity and quality of the service that we could provide if a similar crisis was to emerge in the future.

Topics to be covered will include:

• During a pandemic, what IT is needed for funeral directors, cemeteries, crematoria and suppliers to work efficiently together to provide the required burial and cremation capacity?
• How can our IT systems be prepared for a worse pandemic than COVID-19?
• What does paperless administration look like and why do we need it?
• Do we need a pandemic booking service, who will be responsible for it, and how can the bereavement services sector provide it?
• What practical steps can a cemetery or crematorium take to be prepared for a pandemic booking service?

The presentation will cover the concept of being the first Town Council to build and run a crematorium and it being the first to have two electric cremators, plus the environmental perspective of the project.

Philip was a parish councillor in his home village of Sutton for 24 years, with 14 years as parish council chairman – during which time Sutton won the Calor Village of the Year Award in 2002.

Since joining Huntingdon Town Council, the council’s role in the town has grown – with the transfer of the Cromwell Museum to the council, which saved it from closure, the construction of a new eco community hall at zero cost to the residents, and the construction of the town’s new crematorium and burial ground. Which opened in October, with waste heat from the all-electric cremators being used to heat the adjoining council glasshouses which help with the production of the floral displays across the town.

The next major projects being led by Philip include making the Grade II* listed Georgian town hall zero-carbon, by replacing the existing gas boiler with air source heating and installing secondary glazing. The 1880’s cricket pavilion and nets are also going to be replaced with a 21st century eco pavilion and incorporate an indoor eight-a-side cricket pitch.

Through his role as town clerk, Philip is also the Chairman of the SLCC Cambridgeshire Branch its representative on the National Forum. In addition, he’s a Board Member to Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Association of Local Councils, where he takes the lead on environment.

In this presentation, Heather will provide an insight into the Ministry of Justice’s post-pandemic focus for coroner, burials and cremation policy.

Breakfast Chat and Networking.

Kate Davidson is the Chief Executive Officer of Dignity Plc. With over 15 years’ experience in the funeral and crematoria industry, Kate began her career in the crematoria sector within Local Government, later joining Dignity in management and strategic roles spanning eight years. In 2019, Kate joined crematoria and cemetery operator Westerleigh Group as Commercial and Operations Director, but her passion for Dignity and its people drew her back to the business last year.

Kate holds an Executive MBA from Warwick Business School and is a Member of the National Executive Committee of the Federation of Burial and Cremation Authorities.

An update from the National Medical Examiner.

Dr Alan Fletcher is the National Medical Examiner for England and Wales, appointed in March 2019. He was Lead Medical Examiner in Sheffield before this. He pioneered the medical examiner role since 2008 as part of the Department of Health reforms of death certification; personally reviewing over 22,000 deaths. He has overseen the introduction of the medical examiner system in England and Wales. It is expected the medical examiner system will become statutory in due course. The new system ensures that every death scrutinised by a medical examiner or a coroner to ensure issues with patient care are identified promptly, and as a consequence, to improve services and care for patients overall. Core to the system is providing bereaved people the opportunity to raise any concerns they may have about the care and treatment provided to the deceased person. Dr Fletcher maintains his clinical practice as Consultant in Emergency Medicine and General Medicine at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

This presentation will examine the consumer driven changes in the funeral industry with a particular focus on the operational challenges facing the crematorium operator. This will cover the following topics:

• What’s happening on the ground?
• Move away from traditional towards Celebration of Life / Direct cremation
• Cremators / sustainability / carbon neutrality
• Pricing – More DC / Utility price increases
• CMA / FCA influence on the future
• Choice / quality remain key to the future

After starting and selling an online travel business in early 2000s and a successful career in the city with Accenture, Jamieson joined Memoria in early 2009. He has helped to grow the business and led its planning team to secure consent for 13 new crematoria and memorial parks in the last 11 years. He led the Group’s response to the CMA Funeral Market Investigation (2018-2020) as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. He is an expert in industry trends, regularly contributing to both trade and national press, and continues to support the current FCA process towards funeral plan regulation.

The presentation will report on the progress made in the review of the technical guidance PG5/2 on emissions to air from crematoria, which was announced at last year’s virtual CBCE21.

The presentation will report on the process followed, the agreed scope and show some of the first results on the environmental performance of crematoria based on collected data. The presentation will conclude with a description of the remaining steps to complete the review.

Although nothing is yet agreed, the presentation is likely to give some indication of future emission standards.

AUM is something unique – the first crematorium designed specifically to meet the ritual and cultural needs of the UK’s Hindu diaspora, and to facilitate their proper observation of, and participation in, the final rite of passage or “last samskara”.

The presentation will explore the design process, firstly understanding the complexities and contradictions of an unfamiliar faith, its origins, evolution, and practice in a western context, to how this was then analysed and applied to the modern cremation process. Some attention will also be given to the difficulties experienced in taking along others, including the local planning authority, on this journey, and the difference in the understanding of what a “crematorium” can mean.

With over 20 years of professional experience, Kevin has worked on projects ranging from private beach residences in New Zealand to large industrial and commercial projects across the UK. Having explored the iconography of crematoria in the context of “ritual + process” as a major part of his postgraduate studies, he was a keen participant in the design of the UK’s first Hindu crematorium.

Tradition is a powerful word in the ritual world, whether for weddings or funerals. Just now, as many changes in personal options and forms of funeral increase, it may be an opportune moment to explore ‘tradition’ using ideas drawn from social science, theology, and popular culture. What are the benefits and constraints of tradition on how people dress, feel and behave, and how may we best respect people?

This presentation will consider the future of UK funerals, drawing on the findings from the recently completed academic study on cremation choices and grief, including why people choose direct cremation. Conducted before the pandemic, interviews with participants who had arranged a direct cremation showed that cost was not the primary driver. Instead, participants (or the deceased person) wanted control over funerary rituals, sought commemorative rituals (or an absence of rituals) that corresponded with their beliefs, or chose to not have a funeral service as a compromise because their, or the deceased person’s, original funeral or disposal choice was unavailable. The presentation will consider the implications of these findings for the future of UK funerals, and a potential shift towards consumer-driven services.

The research study underpinning the presentation was funded by Dignity and conducted by an independent academic team based at the University of Bath and Utrecht University.

In this presentation, Lucy will explore a life in disaster response and recovery based on her new memoir, Sunday Times Bestseller, ‘When The Dust Settles’. This is a presentation about loss, compassion and difficult truths in both totemic settings and also closer to home.

Julian will share his knowledge in growing JC Atkinson to be the largest and coffin manufacture in the UK whilst also pioneering environmental best practice within his sector.

In 2008 Julian used Life Cycle Analysis as part of the decision process to drive the changes and secure green investment.

Recently JC Atkinson launched Greener Goodbyes, an App which can estimate the carbon footprint of a given funeral arrangement, with the option to buy Carbon Credits to offset the Carbon emission. Greener Goodbyes includes disposition choices, flame / water cremation and traditional cemetery / woodland burial.

In 2020 Julian launched Greener Goodbyes, a web-based app to facilitate carbon net zero funerals by making it possible for anyone to calculate the carbon emissions of their preferred funeral, understand greener alternatives available and the cost of offsetting it all through the purchase of carbon credits.

In 2021, in partnership with Resomation, Julian Atkinson founded Kindly Earth, a new company to help promote, sell and support water cremation technology in the UK and internationally.

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a devastating mass bereavement event, characterised by profound disruption to death and mourning practices. Drawing on findings from a UKRI funded study investigating bereavement during the pandemic, we will discuss the experiences of people bereaved at this time (see www.covidbereavement.com). We will also talk about the work of the UK Commission on Bereavement which has been collecting evidence from bereaved individuals and bereavement organisations and will be making recommendations to decision-makers and the bereavement sector this autumn (see www.bereavementcommission.org.uk). 

In this presentation, Heidi will provide an update on the move to bring high environmental risk cemeteries into the permitting regime and future plans for exemptions and other changes.

Simon will be talking about Organic Dispersal and its relationship to science, research, and sustainability in the funeral sector. He will also discuss the importance of independent verification of environmental and scientific claims, and the essential criteria for any new, alternative dispersal methods.