Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to help tackle delays at Coroners’ Courts.

It is important that the inquest process is as swift and efficient as possible to avoid additional distress for bereaved families at such a difficult time in their lives.

Whilst the Ministry of Justice is responsible for coroner law and policy, this Department does not have operational responsibility for coroner services as they are a local service, funded and administered by individual local authorities. However, we are keen to understand the factors underlying the length of time for the completion of inquests, and to provide support where possible and appropriate.

To that end, we have introduced a raft of statutory measures to help streamline coroner processes, and intend to take forward further measures when Parliamentary time allows.

In addition, on 9 September 2024, the Government is implementing the statutory Medical Examiner scheme which, by providing a more robust framework for the scrutiny of cause of death, is expected to decrease the number of deaths which are unnecessarily referred to the coroner, thereby reducing pressure on coroner services.

I am also engaging with Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement an action plan to address the complex issues underlying the shortage of coronial pathology provision, which contributes significantly to inquest delays. As a first step, the Ministry of Justice is undertaking a review of the statutory fees for coronial pathology work.

I have recently discussed this and wider issues around inquest delay with the Justice Committee in the context of its follow up Inquiry into the Coroner Service and look forward to receiving its recommendations in due course.