Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Delays in coroner decisions are causing significant distress to bereaved families. The issue is exacerbated for families living far from the court dealing with their loved one's case.
What steps his Department is taking with the coronial system to tackle delays in coroner decisions. The Government have been pushing for more use of medical examiners and CT scans, but many families are still experiencing delays and disruption. What more can the Minister do, working with the chief coroner, to try to get the delays down?
The Government recognise the huge impact that delays have on bereaved families. We are committed to supporting a swift inquest process that puts bereaved families at its heart. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill, the expansion of legal aid and the new duty of candour further strengthen the focus on bereaved families, while helping to ensure the timely establishment of the facts in each case. I have huge sympathy for anyone struggling with this issue. This issue is deeply concerning. However, I am unable to comment on individual judicial decisions as coroners are independent judges and every case is different. The law requires coroners to release a body for burial or cremation as soon as is reasonably practicable, once it is no longer needed for their investigation.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific steps to reduce delays were not provided
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent's family experienced delays and disruption due to the distance from the court and the lack of information about the pause in the prisons and probation ombudsman report.
A constituent of mine died in state custody in July last year. His family was told to expect the prisons and probation ombudsman report within weeks, but it was quietly paused, pending the coroner's post-mortem report, and the family were not told about that for several months. They have now passed the first anniversary of the death, with no answers at all, and with no post-mortem report. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this case and the plight of families who are caught between investigations that wait on one another?
If the hon. Gentleman writes to me with the details of the case, I will of course look into it. Delays of that nature are rare, but they can happen because cases are looked at case by case. I will look into the specifics of that case. To reassure the House, we are aware of the issues with coronial delays. The problem has to do with access to pathology medical examiners, as has been said, but we are working across Government with the Department of Health and Social Care to look at what more we can do to establish a better service, to put bereaved families back at the heart of the system.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific meeting was not committed to
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
A constituent's family experienced delays in receiving the prisons and probation ombudsman report and the post-mortem report due to the interdependence of investigations.
A constituent of mine died in state custody in July last year. His family was told to expect the prisons and probation ombudsman report within weeks, but it was quietly paused, pending the coroner's post-mortem report, and the family were not told about that for several months. They have now passed the first anniversary of the death, with no answers at all, and with no post-mortem report. Will the Minister meet me to discuss this case and the plight of families who are caught between investigations that wait on one another?
If the hon. Gentleman writes to me with the details of the case, I will of course look into it. Delays of that nature are rare, but they can happen because cases are looked at case by case. I will look into the specifics of that case. To reassure the House, we are aware of the issues with coronial delays. The problem has to do with access to pathology medical examiners, as has been said, but we are working across Government with the Department of Health and Social Care to look at what more we can do to establish a better service, to put bereaved families back at the heart of the system.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific meeting was not committed to
Response accuracy