New funeral rules: how many people will be able to attend a funeral from May 17?
10 May 2021, 17:42 | Updated: 11 May 2021, 09:16
What will the new rules for funerals be when England goes into its third stage of lockdown-easing on May 17?
Boris Johnson has confirmed that England will move into its third stage of lockdown-easing next week.
From May 17, a number of rules will be lifted - and restrictions on funerals will be eased to allow more people to attend.
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Currently, only 30 people can attend a funeral, with 15 allowed at the wake - but this rule is set to be lifted.
Here's what we know.
For detailed information on funerals, visit gov.uk
What will the new rules be for funerals on May 17?
In the third stage of lockdown, the cap on guests attending a funeral will be removed entirely, and the amount of people who can attend will be determined by how many can fit in the venue.
While it was originally thought that this move wouldn't happen until the fourth stage of lockdown-easing on June 21, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick recently confirmed that the government had reconsidered.
He said, according to the Mirror: "Losing a loved one has been incredibly hard during the pandemic.
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"And I am pleased we are now in a position, thanks to everyone’s continued efforts and the rollout of the vaccine, to remove these limits and allow more friends and family to come together and pay their respects."
Instead of the legal limit of 30 people, venues will now be able to decide how many people can attend safely while adhering to social distancing.
It is thought that the new rules will apply to both indoor and outdoor funerals, but won't apply to wakes.
Wakes will still have limits on the amount of people allowed to attend, but these rules should be lifted in the fourth stage of lockdown-easing in June.
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