Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure bodies of deceased individuals are released promptly to families from minority religious communities.

Since 9 September 2024, all deaths in any health setting that are not investigated by a coroner will be reviewed by NHS medical examiners. NHS England has published the National Medical Examiner’s guidance which stipulates that arrangements at each medical examiner office should reflect local health priorities and the needs of communities, particularly if there is regular demand for urgent release of bodies at weekends and public holidays. Urgent release may be required to facilitate organ and tissue donation, or to fulfil religious practices and other needs of local communities.

The Royal College of Pathologists provides mandatory face-to-face training for medical examiners, which includes contributions from the Board of Deputies of British Jews and Gardens of Peace in which they explain the importance of rapid scrutiny to facilitate burial as soon as possible. The e-learning modules for medical examiners also include faith considerations.

For deaths which are investigated by the coroner, the Chief Coroner has issued a suite of Guidance to assist coroners with the law and their legal duties, and to provide advice on policy and practice. The Chief Coroner’s Guidance No.28 on Decision Making and Expedited Decisions is intended to be a practical guide to assist coroners in situations where a bereaved family has made a request to the coroner for urgent consideration of the death of a loved one and/or early release of their body; or where the coroner or coroner’s officers otherwise become aware of features of a particular death which may justify treating it as especially urgent.