The Coroner Service

Justice Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 7 Jul 2020 Closed: 1 Dec 2021 Parliament page
This inquiry examined the effectiveness and capacity of the Coroner Service. It also looked at whether enough progress has been made in improving bereaved people's experience of the Coroner Service. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 introduced changes to the service which were implemented in 2013. This included the appointment … Read more
26 Recommendations
2 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Letter
4 Events
Activity timeline 3 events
22 Feb
2022
Correspondence
10 Sep
2021
Report published
27 May
2021
Report published
Title HC No. Published Items Response
1st Report - The Coroner Service HC 68 27 May 2021 28 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
7 results
Clear
2 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Reducing the number of coronial areas has helped increase consistency across the Coroner Service.
Reducing the number of coronial areas has helped increase consistency across the Coroner Service. The Ministry of Justice should amend the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (as requested by the outgoing Chief Coroner) to make it easier to merge areas.
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation to amend the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 to facilitate mergers of coronial areas, noting this is currently in progress as part of the Judicial Review and Courts Bill.
Ministry of Justice
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5 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
The Ministry of Justice’s Guide to Coroner Services is good first step but more needs...
The Ministry of Justice’s Guide to Coroner Services is good first step but more needs to be done to make sure that bereaved people know of its existence. We encourage all Senior Coroners to make sure that the updated Guide … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, committing to work with the Chief Coroner to ensure the Guide to the Coroner Service for Bereaved People is widely available online and, where justified, will provide hard copies while reviewing this policy annually.
Ministry of Justice
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14 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
There may be circumstances where with the consent of the bereaved people concerned, it would...
There may be circumstances where with the consent of the bereaved people concerned, it would be sensible for the High Court to be able to direct that the particulars of the Record of the Inquest be amended as appropriate without … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation and will seek to introduce the proposed amendment to Section 13 into legislation when parliamentary time permits.
Ministry of Justice
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15 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
The Government consultation on coronial investigation of stillbirths was welcome but it is disappointing that...
The Government consultation on coronial investigation of stillbirths was welcome but it is disappointing that it appears to have stalled. The Ministry of Justice should revive the consultation on coronial investigation of stillbirths and publish proposals for reform. (Paragraph 118) … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation and plans to publish a joint response to the consultation on coronial investigation of stillbirths as soon as possible.
Ministry of Justice
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18 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
In the medium term the Ministry of Justice should work with the Department of Health...
In the medium term the Ministry of Justice should work with the Department of Health and Social Care so that pathologists’ work for coroners is planned for within pathologists’ contracts with NHS trusts.
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation to work with the Department of Health and Social Care to plan pathologists’ work for coroners within NHS contracts, noting NHS England and Improvement's support for scheduling post-mortems into job plans to minimise impact on services.
Ministry of Justice
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27 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
The Coroner Service responded well to covid-19, and we express our thanks to all those...
The Coroner Service responded well to covid-19, and we express our thanks to all those involved under very difficult circumstances. A considerable number of inquests have been delayed because of the pandemic restrictions. We were unconvinced by the Minister’s response … Read more
Government Response
The government accepts the recommendation, detailing ongoing engagement with the Chief Coroner's office and committing to include four coroner-related measures in the Judicial Review and Courts Bill to support the Coroner Service's recovery from the pandemic.
Ministry of Justice
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28 Recommendation Accepted
1st Report - The Coroner Service
We encourage the Chief Coroner to collect information from each Coroner Service Area on the...
We encourage the Chief Coroner to collect information from each Coroner Service Area on the challenges they face because of the pandemic and communicate the overall picture to the Ministry of Justice. (Paragraph 222) 62 The Coroner Service
Government Response
The government notes the recommendation is for the Chief Coroner, who is already engaged with senior coroners to identify and address pandemic-related issues, and the Ministry of Justice will continue to support this work.
Ministry of Justice
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Government Response AI assessment · 28 of 26 classified
Accepted 7
Accepted in Part 2
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 10
Rejected 8
Total 26 recs + 2 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
22 Feb 2022 To committee Response from Chief Coroner on coroner service report
Parliament page