On 26 January 2026, we posted Church proposes significant increase in fees for burial which reviewed Schedule 1 of the draft Order, GS2434. A new Parochial Fees Order is required to set the fees for 2027 and beyond (the maximum period permitted under the Ecclesiastical Fees Measure 1986 (the 1986 Measure) is five years).
The draft Order prescribes the “base figures” on which the parochial fees for the period 1 January 2027 to 31 December 2031 will be calculated for marriages, funerals and burials, the erection of monuments in churchyards and certain other matters. The Explanatory Memorandum, GS 2434X, states (at [6]) that “Other than in the case of the fees for burials, the base figures are the currently payable figures for 2026″; a significant increase in burial fees is proposed, the rationale for which is described in the Policy Note, GS 2434P.