The consultation on increasing fees at Pembrokeshire’s Parc Gwyn crematorium will run for an extra month after a question of the legal powers behind the move.

Following a question from a member of the public the council will add in details of thepowers under which the proposed increases will be made, to the consultation documents.

At Thursday’s (October 11) full council meeting John Hudson asked: “Will the Leader please ensure that the strict legal powers under which the Council intends to impose these charges are disclosed to the public as part of the formal Consultation process, together with relevant impartial advice by the WAO (Wales Audit Office) and other bodies?”

Cabinet member for the environment and Welsh language Clr. Cris Tomos said he “accepted we had not explicitly expressed the legal basis in the consultation information and have asked it now be included for the sake of clarity.”

Mr. Hudson’s question also stated that when a report on increasing fees at Parc Gwyn was discussed at September’s cabinet meeting, members were told there were no legal issues arising from the report.

However, he states that the claim that there was “no limit on what could be charged for crematorium use and that the service could be used to generate income” was not substantiated.

“What is the basis for the Cabinet Member’s unsubstantiated assertion about the legal powers available to the Council?” asked Mr. Hudson.

Clr. Tomos answered that the council report “mirrors” the Wales Audit Office report on charging for services and also met with the rules of the Crematorium Act 1902.

Statutory powers would be included in reports to cabinet following the consultation he added, before a decision is taken.

“The consultation is to assess the accessibility and potential impact of the proposal on the public,” he said.

The consultation had been due to finish at the end of this month but extra time will be added.