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<p>The coroner’s statutory duty, through the investigation and inquest process, is
to establish who has died, and when, where and how they died. Coroners are independent
judicial office holders and the way in which they conduct their investigations and
inquests is a matter for them. However, the Government and the Chief Coroner are clear
that the bereaved should be placed at the heart of this process.</p><p>The office
of the Chief Coroner was introduced in 2013 to provide judicial leadership, guidance
and support to coroners and to promote consistency of standards and practice. In addition,
the Chief Coroner is required to provide an annual report to the Lord Chancellor which,
amongst other issues, assesses the consistency of standards between coroner areas.</p><p>The
Government continues to identify and implement measures to promote consistency of
standards in coroner services – for example, through the programme of coroner area
mergers, and by means of a suite of provisions in the Judicial Review and Courts Act
2022 to streamline coronial processes.</p><p>We also accepted a number of recommendations
made by the Justice Committee following its 2021 Inquiry into the Coroner Service,
and undertook to give further consideration to others. The Committee’s current follow
up Inquiry will, amongst other issues, consider progress against those recommendations.</p>
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