Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of inquests into deaths to the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland that will not have been completed by 1 May.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023 requires Troubles-related inquests to conclude by 1 May 2024. The legislation provides a limited carve out for any Troubles-related inquests where the hearing of all evidence has finished and where the only matter still to come is the delivery of the inquest’s findings.

The Act contains provisions allowing a coroner to request a review of a death by the ICRIR, led by Sir Declan Morgan as Chief Commissioner, if the inquest has not been concluded via the coronial process by 1 May 2024. Close family members, as well as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland and the Advocate General for Northern Ireland, can also request a review of a death by the ICRIR.

The case management of inquests is a matter for coroners.