Andrew Stephenson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Stephenson on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the availability of coroners at all times to address matters which must be dealt with immediately under the provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Dr Phillip Lee

Justice Ministers have received representations from the Jewish and Muslim communities about coroners out of hours’ services and have met representatives from these communities. We recognise the importance of an out of hours service and have worked with the police and local authorities to this end.

Regulation 4 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 requires coroners to be available at all times to address matters relating to an investigation into a death which must be dealt with immediately and cannot wait until the next working day. This is particularly important in cases of homicide and mass fatalities. Coroners also make themselves available if needed in cases involving organ and tissue donation.