Article: Headstone Safety in our cemeteries Article Body The council is responsible for 21 cemeteries and 12 closed churchyards, with over 35,000 headstones and memorials. Many of these are in a poor condition and have the potential to cause danger. As required by the Health and Safety Executive, the council are carrying out a rolling programme of headstone safety inspection in the borough's cemeteries. Safety technicians carry out an inspection of each headstone/memorial, looking for damage, breaks, leaning and so on. A stability test is undertaken to ascertain whether the headstone is stable. Where the headstone/memorial is found to be unsafe, work is carried out to make it safe, usually by laying the stone down to prevent the risk of injury to members of the public. Where members of the family/owners of the grave can be traced, they will be notified of the action taken wherever possible. They may then wish to arrange for the headstone to be repaired. Members of the public who see an unsafe headstone/memorial may also notify Bereavement Services so that an inspection followed by appropriate action can be carried out. Eligibility This service is available to members of the public Procedure The council is currently carrying out a rolling programme of headstone safety inspection across the borough. All headstones/memorials within a cemetery are inspected, and action taken to make the headstones safe where necessary. Any member of the public or employee of the council can report an unsafe gravestone/memorial for inspection. As much detail as possible regarding the headstone and its position should be given, to enable the safety technicians to locate the grave. Information to be provided should include, where possible: Name of cemetery Description of unsafe memorial (include details such as broken, leaning, loose at footings and so on.) Names on the memorial (if possible) Description of where the memorial is within the cemetery Details of the notification will be passed on to the safety technicians, who will carry out an inspection and ensure any necessary work to make the memorial safe is carried out. If the member of the public leaves details of their name, address and telephone number when making a report, an office will contact them to advise them of action taken. Helplines Bereavement Services, (01226) 206053 email: bereavementservices@barnsley.gov.uk Opening times/locations 8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm on Friday Based at the Crematorium, Doncaster Road, Ardsley, Barnsley Alternatively, requests/queries can be made via email at any time, and these will be dealt with during normal office hours Leaflets Headstone Safety, available on request from Bereavement Services. Legislation Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Response times/next steps On receipt of a notification of an unsafe/dangerous headstone, the council will carry out an inspection within a maximum of time of five working days Owner Officer Contact Details Principal Officer Bereavement Services, Barnsley Crematorium, Doncaster Road, Barnsley, S71 5EH. Additional Notes Members of the public may also wish to notify Bereavement Services of other problems regarding cemeteries, such as vandalism, dog fouling and so on. Frequently Asked Questions Why is the council carrying out headstone safety checks? This work has been required by the Health and Safety Executive following a series of incidents across the country where people have been injured or killed by falling memorials. Tragically, there have also been incidents of children being killed by falling memorials while playing in cemeteries. Some of the memorials in our cemeteries could be unsafe. The council has a responsibility for the safety of visitors to the cemeteries. Who is the Health and Safety Executive? The Health and Safety Executive is a central government enforcement agency responsible for the general health and safety in public places Who is responsible for keeping my memorial repaired and in a safe condition? The grave owner or their next of kin is responsible for keeping the headstone/memorial repaired and in a safe condition What will the safety tests involve and who will carry them out? Each headstone will be given a visual check to assess the condition of the memorial. Each headstone will then be given a gentle push test to check that it is not in 'immediate danger of falling'. The checks are being carried out be a team of trained officers who will make sure any work is carried out with due respect. At the completion of the test, each headstone will be recorded to indicate that the safety check has been carried out. The record will include the date of inspection and of any action that was taken. What will the council do with headstones that fail the test? Once a headstone is found to be unsafe the council has a duty of care to make sure it is made safe immediately because the cemetery is a public place. Headstones that are in immediate danger of collapse will be carefully laid flat. In some cases it may be possible to secure the headstone or to effectively cordon off the area while attempts are made at tracing the grave owner and arranging the necessary repair. No memorials/headstones will be removed from the grave space as part of this testing. Wherever possible we will contact grave owners as soon as possible to inform them where it has been necessary to take action to make safe a memorial (please note that in many cases the council has not been informed of headstone ownership details as people have moved or responsibility transferred to descendants. In some cases the council has no burial records at all). What should I do if my headstone/memorial has been lowered to the ground or otherwise made safe? Please contact the crematorium office using the contact details provided and speak to a member of Bereavement Services staff. We will advise you to contact a reputable memorial mason who will be able to assist you with re-erecting your memorial safely using modern techniques that comply with a national code of safe practice. Under no circumstances should you try to re-erect the memorial yourself. This could be very dangerous and may result in serious injury to yourself and/or to members of the public. Only memorial masons can carry out work on memorials in Barnsley Council cemeteries. Grave owners or the next of kin are responsible for the cost of fixing the memorial back in place to a safe condition. If I have insurance cover on my memorial will the costs of repair be covered? Please check with your monumental mason or your insurer to find out My headstone has been lowered to the ground and I wasn't contacted first. Why? Our immediate priority is to make a complete inspection of our cemeteries to make sure they are safe places for the public to enter. Stickers will be used to advise owners of headstones that have been made safe what to do next. When the inspection is complete we will contact as many grave owners as possible whose memorials have been lowered or otherwise made safe as a result of the inspection. If we have not written to you it may be because we do not have a record of your current address. Will my headstone be subject to further tests in the future? Yes, we will be carrying out similar tests at regular intervals in the future, at least every five years. Where can I get further information? We understand how upsetting it can be for families to see a memorial to a loved one laid flat and we want to help people deal with their unsafe memorials as quickly as possible. Anyone who wants to talk about what is happening or who needs information can always contact us by letter, email or telephone. We will try to resolve any problem as soon as possible. Further inspection on the borough's cemeteries will be ongoing for some time. In the meantime, members of the public are asked to keep to the paths where possible and to keep children under close supervision at all times. Related links Home Office List of Stonemasons