Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a target for the length of time an inquest should take from its opening to its conclusion.

The Ministry of Justice publishes Coroner Statistics each May covering the preceding calendar year. The information is collated from data provided by each of the 81 coroner areas across England and Wales.

Data from the published statistics is set out in the table below, across all coroner areas for each of the last five years, on the total number of inquests recorded, the average length of inquests, the total number of inquests open for more than two years, and the total number of inquests suspended and not resumed. The requested information for inquests adjourned for longer than two years in England, London and Barnet only is not collated as part of the annual statistics. Table CSV included in the annual publication provides further information for adjourned inquests by coroner area.

The published statistics also record the average length of an inquest in individual coroner areas and Barnet is part of the North London Coroner area with Brent, Harrow, Haringey and Enfield. Table 13 collates this information by region.

The Ministry of Justice does not have a target for the length of time an inquest should take. Coroners are independent judicial office holders and the way they manage their caseload is a matter for them. Following the Covid-19 pandemic the Chief Coroner issued guidance to coroners on how their services can best recover and tackle backlogs that accumulated in some areas.

Regulation 26 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 require coroners to notify the Chief Coroner of any investigation which has not been completed or discontinued within a year of the death being reported to them, and provide reasons for this. They must also notify the Chief Coroner when such investigations are completed or discontinued.