Plans approved for families to broadcast Harrogate funerals online

Harrogate Council set the pricing for its new service on Tuesday (Today), which allows people to view funerals through a secure portal when given permission by the family of the deceased.

The decision was taken by the borough’s cabinet member for Environment, Waste Reduction and Recycling, Cllr Andy Paraskos.

In a report prepared for Cllr Paraskos bereavement service manager Stephen Hemsworth wrote that: “Increasingly Bereavement Services is receiving requests for additional services to provide additional memories for families attending memorial ceremonies as well as providing opportunities for those who cannot physically attend to pay their respects.

“Bereavement Services has the technical infrastructure in place to provide these enhanced service to mourners and we are seeking to implement

these enhanced services to supplement those already provided.”

The price of the webcasting service will be £30. If you want the recording to be available for 28 days it is £45 or £50 for it to be broadcast live and a DVD to be made. The council will also offer to create a photographic tribute set to music for a payment of £70.

Cllr Paraskos said the webcasts are only available to people given permission to by the family and are cannot be seen by the general public.

He said: “It is a good idea, we have people who try to broadcast services on tablets or their phones to relatives in other countries and the signal is just not good enough.”

Only people invited to view the funeral via a secure website will be able to view the broadcasts.

Carl Gavaghan , Local Democracy Reporting Service