The Isle of Wight Council confirms plans to charge grieving families £55 for its funeral streaming services.
The service, which was first introduced during the pandemic, has been provided for free. However, the local council says that charging a fee will help cover the cost of running and maintaining the system, as well as the licenses required by the streaming video host. The authority's leaders said that the discretionary service has helped mourning relatives and friends feel part of services held during the restrictions.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said: "Most crematoriums offer this service charge, on average, at £90 per live stream so our proposed fee is well below this."
Other local authorities, including Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council charge between £30 and £80 for the same service. They also charge for showing digital photographs on a screen and the fees range from £12 per photo.