R70 Response Accepted AI-assessed

COPFS death reporting guidance review

Recommendation

Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal service (COPFS) should review its guidance on the reporting of deaths regularly and at least every two years.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Scottish Government response, 18 June 2015, the Scottish Government requested the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) to assess progress on this recommendation in December 2014. According to the available evidence, COPFS confirmed it would regularly review its guidance on death reporting and has since revised its Guidance on Investigation of Deaths. However, no publicly available evidence confirms the formal adoption of a specific two-yearly review cycle as recommended. No further published evidence has been identified since 2015.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Accepted Scottish Government
18 Jun 2015

Section 5.1 of the Scottish Government's response details actions taken to implement the report's recommendations, including R70. The Government wrote to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service in December 2014, requesting an assessment of progress against the recommendations. This initiative is part of a broader commitment to ensure all 75 recommendations are fully implemented and monitored.

Read Full Response
Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
18 Jun 2015
COPFS Other

COPFS confirmed it would review guidance on death reporting regularly. COPFS has revised its Guidance on Investigation of Deaths over the period since the inquiry.

View detailed findings

No publicly available evidence of a specific two-yearly review cycle being formally adopted.

Scottish Government Response to Vale of Leven Inq… View Source
Source
Inquiry Vale of Leven Inquiry
Report The Vale of Leven Hospital Inquiry Report 24 Nov 2014
View Source
Responsible Bodies
COPFS Primary
Themes & Tags
Coroner family information gaps Death Reporting Legal
Recommendation age 11.3 yrs
Last formal update 3932 days ago