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1473201

registered interest
date	24/06/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coroners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking to steps to (a) minimise costs faced by claimants during an inquest when admissions of liability result in reasonable costs no longer being duty of the defendant and (b) allow bereaved families to further establish in law the principle of equality of arms between families and public bodies.
tabling member constituency	Croydon Central
tabling member printed	Sarah Jones
uin	24650
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2022 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that bereaved families are properly supported and are able to participate in the inquest process. An inquest is intended to be an inquisitorial, fact-finding event, and in the vast majority of cases, representation is not necessary. There is no question of liability nor defendants, only interested persons, and witnesses are not expected to present legal arguments.</p><p> </p><p>In certain circumstances, legal representation for bereaved families at inquests may be funded through the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) scheme. We believe that the process to access this support should be as straightforward as possible, which is why we removed the means test for ECF in relation to these matters.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst we acknowledge the call for the provision for legal representation for all bereaved families at inquests to ensure “equality of arms” between families and public bodies, we believe that additional lawyers at an inquest will not provide an overall improvement for the bereaved or change the outcome of the conclusion of an inquest.</p><p> </p><p>The refreshed Ministry of Justice Guide to Coroner Services for Bereaved People is better focused on the needs of bereaved people and is designed to support bereaved families and keep them at the heart of the inquest process. The Guide includes number of key principles that government departments and the lawyers it instructs will follow. These include the need to consider the number of lawyers instructed, bearing in mind the commitment to support an inquisitorial approach.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 30/06/2022 16:14:02 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4631 label Biography information for Sarah Jones

1378433

registered interest
date	15/11/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coroners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether officials in his Department are required to provide him with all evidence relating to a death inquest when its findings are under review and subject to a ministerial decision.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	75060
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2021 answer text <p>Coroners are independent judicial office holders so it would be inappropriate for Ministers or their officials to interfere in the judicial decisions they make in their investigations and inquests.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 23/11/2021 16:57:36 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

1349050

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coroners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of coroners' activities within the legal system.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	37445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>Coroners are independent judicial office holders. A system of appraisal for assistant coroners which was launched by the previous Chief Coroner in April 2019 is now well-established and a system of appraisal for area and senior coroners is now being developed by the current Chief Coroner following a recently completed pilot scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Coroners carry out their role in line with their statutory powers and duties set out in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Rules and Regulations which underpin the Act. The Chief Coroner provides leadership, guidance and support to coroners to assist them in their role and Justice Ministers meet the Chief Coroner on a regular basis. On 27 July the Justice Committee published the report of its inquiry into the coroner service. The Government has responded to the Committee’s report and the Committee is expected to publish the response on its website in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Since July 2013 when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into force, to be eligible for appointment as a senior, area or assistant coroner, a person has to have a legal qualification. Coroners in post at that time who only had a medical qualification could, however, continue in that role but they would not be eligible for another coroner appointment. Individuals who are both legally and medically qualified remain eligible for appointment.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 37444 37446 question first answered 10/09/2021 13:54:51 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1349051

registered interest
date	21/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coroners
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of medical coroners.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	37446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>Coroners are independent judicial office holders. A system of appraisal for assistant coroners which was launched by the previous Chief Coroner in April 2019 is now well-established and a system of appraisal for area and senior coroners is now being developed by the current Chief Coroner following a recently completed pilot scheme.</p><p> </p><p>Coroners carry out their role in line with their statutory powers and duties set out in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Rules and Regulations which underpin the Act. The Chief Coroner provides leadership, guidance and support to coroners to assist them in their role and Justice Ministers meet the Chief Coroner on a regular basis. On 27 July the Justice Committee published the report of its inquiry into the coroner service. The Government has responded to the Committee’s report and the Committee is expected to publish the response on its website in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Since July 2013 when the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 came into force, to be eligible for appointment as a senior, area or assistant coroner, a person has to have a legal qualification. Coroners in post at that time who only had a medical qualification could, however, continue in that role but they would not be eligible for another coroner appointment. Individuals who are both legally and medically qualified remain eligible for appointment.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 37444 37445 question first answered 10/09/2021 13:54:51 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord