Council plans a huge hike in cost of getting hitched

MARRIAGES AND OTHER SERVICES FACE STEEP PRICE RISE

THE cost of marriages, funerals, and baby naming ceremonies in Newcastle is set to jump in the new year.

The city council has confirmed plans to hike a series of charges in January, some of which will rise by almost 5% to keep pace with inflation.

The amount the local authority charges for civil marriage and civil partnership ceremonies will rise by roughly 4.9% for 2022.

The fee will jump from a minimum £190 to £200 and a maximum £570 to £595, depending on the day of the week and whether the celebration is in Newcastle Civic Centre’s Leazes Room or at another venue.

The price of baby naming or vow renewal ceremonies will also increase, rising from between £200 and £485 to a new rate of between £210 and £540.

The city council said it recognised the higher fees would

“not be welcomed” at a time of economic struggle for many residents, but such increases were only introduced when “absolutely necessary”.

The prices of a basic Register Office marriage ceremony, for marriage notifications, and for birth, death, and marriage certificates are not being increased, as they are set nationally.

Bereavement services in the city will also be introducing price hikes, though only a 2.5% rise - which the council says is compensating for an above inflation uplift last year which was needed to pay for “essential works” at the West Road Crematorium and cemeteries.

The fee the council charges for a cremation will rise from £872 to £894, while the cost of a cemetery burial for a resident of Newcastle will increase by £24 to £966.

Fees for other services like the web streaming of funerals,the placement of headstones, books of remembrance, and exhumation will all rise too. A council spokesman said: “Like many other local authorities facing rising costs and demands for public services we annually review our fees to enable us to continue providing these services such as funerals and registration of births, marriages and deaths. “While we recognise this will not be welcomed at this time, we only increase them when absolutely necessary. Even then they are regularly benchmarked to ensure they are proportionate and in line with what other neighbouring local authorities and in Newcastle’s case, Core Cities, are charging. “The increases in bereavement services, 2.5%, is below the rate of inflation. We will continue to review our fees so they remain comparable with other local authorities.”

We only increase [charges] when absolutely necessary Newcastle City Council spokesman on the new charges