Recommendations & Conclusions
7 items
2
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 AI summary
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.
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Ministry of Justice
5
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 to the Coroner Service for Bereaved People is freely available …
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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 to the Coroner Service for Bereaved People is freely available both online and, where requested, in hard copy by post and is offered to people who have been bereaved as soon as it has been decided that a post-mortem is needed.
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Ministry of Justice
14
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 ordering a fresh inquest. The Government should consider adopting the …
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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 ordering a fresh inquest. The Government should consider adopting the Chief Coroner’s proposed amendment to Section 13 with the caveat that the High Court could use the new power only with the consent of the interested party applying under Section 13.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and will seek to introduce the proposed amendment to Section 13 into legislation when parliamentary time permits.
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Ministry of Justice
15
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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) Shortage of pathology services
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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) Shortage of pathology services
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and plans to publish a joint response to the consultation on coronial investigation of stillbirths as soon as possible.
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Ministry of Justice
18
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 AI summary
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.
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Ministry of Justice
27
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 on how the MoJ will support the Coroner Service to …
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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 on how the MoJ will support the Coroner Service to reduce waiting times. The Ministry of Justice should liaise with the Chief Coroner and consider what central government support may be needed to help the Coroner Service to recover from the pandemic. (Paragraph 221) The Coroner Service 61
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Government response AI summary
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.
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Ministry of Justice
28
Recommendation
1st Report - The Coroner Service
Accepted
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 AI summary
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.
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Ministry of Justice