Ban on funerals would be fairer and safer, undertakers argue

THE Government should ban funerals during the pandemic because of mounting pressure on undertakers to adhere to strict limits on the number of attendees, which has resulted in the exclusion of grandchildren, experts said.

The Good Funeral Guide has highlighted the strain being placed on funeral directors and crematorium workers, who have been given “impossible decisions to make”.

Last week, the Government prohibited large gatherings like weddings or baptisms, but not funerals, leaving decisions over how many people can attend with individual crematoria.

Fran Hall, CEO of the not-for-profit organisation, said the lack of clear direction was “causing untold anguish”.

She added: “The choice of who can and cannot attend a funeral shouldn’t be on the individual funeral director or the celebrant. It is unbearable and unfair for everyone. No one can enforce these rules, so we are asking individuals to police the situation. If 10 people are allowed in and 50 turn up, what happens then? If there were directives that funerals should not be attended by anyone it would be fairer and safer.

“It seems brutal, but what people are getting now is half a funeral. If we are approaching a situation where the number of deaths escalates we will have to ban them.”

A group of funeral industry organisations issued guidance in the wake of Boris Johnson’s announcement last week. It said that only spouses, parents, siblings and children were immediate family, but went on to clarify that if numbers allowed, grandchildren should be able to attend.

A Government spokesman said: “We want to maintain the right for a person or their loved ones to have the preferences around their death respected.

“Funerals will continue to go ahead, but the number of mourners should be restricted to immediate family only with appropriate social distancing measures in place.”