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CRY's Coroners and Justice Act Campaign - History
A summary of CRY's campaign to urge
MPs to oppose the proposed abolition of the role of Chief Coroner for England
and Wales
There is
grave concern about the government’s decision to scrap the proposed role of
Chief Coroner for England and Wales. Expert
opinion suggests that this ill-considered move will leave England and Wales with
a diminished service unfit for the 21st century, with no financial
advantage gained. |
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URGENT UPDATE - 23/11/2011
Stunning u-turn by
Secretary of State Ken Clarke over the role of Chief Coroner
The prospect of again losing
the battle in the House of Lords - who were so successful a year ago in
blocking the Government's decision to axe the role of Chief Coroner - has
resulted in a last minute amendment establishing the role of Chief Coroner
in the Public Bodies Bill. The British Legion has considerable influence in
the House of Lords and some of you might have seen yesterday’s high impact
full page article in the Sun appealing for support.
However the further fight is
whether the option of retaining the Appeals Process can be won in today's
debate. We will keep you informed of the final outcome.
Further information is
available on:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/8907969/Military-inquests-Chief-Coroner-created-in-Coalition-climb-down.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-15847352
UPDATE - 22/11/2011
The House of Lords
will once again consider the Public Bodies Bill on Wednesday 23rd November.
Baroness Finlay has again tabled an amendment to take the Chief Coroner and
associated offices back out of this Bill and hopefully the House of Lords will
back the new amendment as they did in December last year.
If successful, the issue will
then return to the Commons where the Government will be under intense
pressure to remove the Chief Coroner from the Public Bodies Bill as it would
mean the whole of their Public Bodies Bill would fail if it stayed in. If
this happened, the Government would be expected to put forward alternative
proposals as set out by INQUEST and the Royal British Legion in their
September 2011 proposal:
http://inquest.gn.apc.org/pdf/briefings/INQUEST_October_2011_Briefing_on_Public_Bodies_Bill.pdf
However, first the Peers need to support Baroness
Finlay's amendment by voting for it (or abstaining from the vote). As the
Government will be putting intense pressure on their Peers to vote against
the amendment this is likely to be a much tighter vote than last year.
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CRY
statement - 26th October 2011
We are very sorry to report that
despite everybody’s efforts and a
robust debate in the House of Commons yesterday
(October 25th),
Conservative MP Andrew Percy's amendment to remove the Chief Coroner
from the Public Bodies Bill was defeated 235 – 287; i.e. a majority of
only
52 votes, with a high
number of abstentions.
This was in spite of
months of fervent protests, including the British Legion, who received
considerable media coverage by emphasising the need for a Chief Coroner
for military inquests and published a poll of 2,000 people confirming
that 69% say that appointing a Chief Coroner is a matter of principle
not a question of cost; CRY, who had sent out 9,300 postcards over 10
weeks requesting support for the role of Chief Coroner; and a letter
published yesterday in The Times supported by 18 leading charities.
The office
of Chief Coroner has now been reinstated into the Public Bodies Bill and
will again return
to the House of Lords for their consideration.
No date has yet been given as to when when this will be. We hope
that the strength of feeling shown will encourage Peers to again
challenge the government over this issue when it returns for 'Lords
Consideration of Commons Amendments',
and build on their previous inspirational success of last December
(see Public Bodies
Bill; Amendment 26; page 528
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201011/ldhansrd/lhan84.pdf).
The
debate from the 25th October can be read at column 246:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmhansrd/cm111025/debtext/111025-0003.htm |
Ahead of
October 25th's debate on the Public Bodies Bill, 18 national charities wrote
to The Times to urge MPs to vote to take the office of the Chief Coroner out
of the Bill. The letter reads:
Charities
supporting bereaved people will be watching MPs closely today. Two years ago
we welcomed Parliament’s decision to establish a Chief Coroner. Now as part
of the Public Bodies Bill before the House of Commons today, the Government
proposes to dismantle this vital post.
Inquests
into contentious or sudden deaths – in accidents, in road crashes, at work,
through suicide, in custody or in the Armed Forces – are often the only
public forum in which bereaved people can seek answers and other lives can
be safeguarded. But they are beset with unacceptable delays, inconsistent
standards of service.
The Chief
Coroner, as the centrepiece of the Coroners and Justice Act passed with
cross-party support in 2009, underpins a necessary overhaul. The role was
designed to ensure judicial oversight, enforce national standards and
increase accountability. The Chief Coroner would lead the development of a
functioning system that could make a vital contribution to saving lives.
The
proposals to dismantle the role and transfer certain responsibilities to
others will not bring about the reform necessary to improve bereaved
families’ experiences. Instead, the piecemeal measures will add further
complexity and uncertainty to an already fragmented system.
We must not
lose this opportunity to create an inquest system fit for the 21st Century
with bereaved families at its heart. That is why we urge all MPs to support
the amendment tabled by Conservative backbencher, Andrew Percy MP, to remove
the Chief Coroner from the Bill.
Helen Shaw,
Co-Director, INQUEST
Chris
Simpkins, Director General, The Royal British Legion
Javed Khan,
Chief Executive, Victim Support
Debbie
Kerslake, Chief Executive, Cruse Bereavement Care
Pamela Dix,
Executive Director, Disaster Action
Catherine
Johnstone, Chief Executive, Samaritans
Alison
Penny, Childhood Bereavement Network: National Children’s Bureau
Ann
Chalmers, Chief Executive, Child Bereavement Charity
Mark
Goldring CBE, Chief Executive, Mencap
Neal Long,
Chief Executive, Sands
Angela
Samata, Chair, Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide
Diana
Youdale, Chief Executive, The Compassionate Friends
Peter
Walsh, Chief Executive, Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA)
Stephanie
Trotter OBE, President & Director, CO-Gas Safety
Cynthia
Barlow, Chair, RoadPeace
Alison Cox
MBE, Founder & Chief Executive, Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)
David
Hines, Chairman, National Victims’ Association
Eve
Henderson, Director & Co-founder, Support After Murder & Manslaughter Abroad
House of Commons
Early Day Motion 2042 on the Chief Coroner |
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That this House believes the
judicial position of the Chief Coroner would provide much needed
national leadership for the coroners system, significantly
improve the experience of bereaved families and operate a new
appeals process; notes the support for a Chief Coroner from
charities and organisations including the Royal British Legion (RBL),
INQUEST, Victim Support and CRY; further notes that the RBL has
stated that the Government's alternative proposals will fail to
meet the needs of bereaved armed forces families and that the
creation of the Chief Coroner is essential to improving bereaved
armed forces families' experience of military inquests; and
therefore calls on the Government to support bereaved families
by leaving the Chief Coroner out of the Public Bodies Bill.
Please ask your MP to sign this
motion |
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Background
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The role of the Chief Coroner was created by
the Coroners and Justice Act 2009,
which
the Ministry of Justice said
aimed “to deliver more effective, transparent and
responsive justice and coroner services for
victims”. Provisions within the Act were
commenced to allow the Chief Coroner to be appointed
in January 2010.
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In December 2010, the House of
Lords overturned the government’s decision, which
would have seen the scrapping of the Chief Coroner's
Office. Lords voted 277 to 165 to amend the Public
Bodies Bill to preserve the Chief Coroner, as set
out in the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
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How
you can help
As well as
signing our petition we are
asking whether you would consider
contacting your MP (whose details are on the internet at
www.parliament.uk)
and either: leaving a message for your MP;
booking a visit with your MP; or writing a letter to your MP
urgently requesting a review of this policy.
The key message is that
the role of Chief Coroner is a vitally important position which
would empower the Appeals Process; spearhead reform; ensure
judicial oversight and enforce the national standards which will finally
make our inquest system fit for the 21st century.
Please let us know if you contact your MP by any of the methods
above, so that we can promote the overall response to our appeal. |
The letter - right - appeared in The Times on 13th December 2010 and
was also signed by:
Debbie Kerslake, Chief Executive, CRUSE Bereavement
Care; Javed Khan, Chief Executive, Victim Support; Peter Walsh, CEO, Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA);
Alison Cox MBE, Founder & Chief Executive, Cardiac
Risk in the Young (CRY); Ann Chalmers, Chief
Executive, Child Bereavement Charity; Pamela Dix,
Executive Director, Disaster Action; Rose Dixon,
Chief Executive, Support after Murder and Manslaughter (SAMM
National); Angela Samata, Chair, Survivors of
Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS); Mark Ferland, Chair,
The Compassionate Friends; Amy Aeron-Thomas,
Executive Director, Road Peace; Julie Townsend,
Campaigns Director, BRAKE. |
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Peter Teale’s story
Peter’s fitness instructor daughter, Zoe, was 23 years old when she
died in her sleep on 15 September 2009.
“With sudden death, you don’t have the opportunity to pray for a
child’s survival, have the chance to say goodbye or even to be there
with them to hold their hand as they pass away“ said Peter Teale,
Zoe’s father. “Zoe had an incredible zest for life and it has
been absolutely devastating to have her taken away from us.”
“What was also hard was the way that we were treated by the
coroner. It took three requests to get Zoe’s heart released (you
lose your powers of guardianship in a sudden death case) for
specialist examination at CRY’s heart unit at the Royal Brompton,
where it was found that Zoe had inherited a heart condition from my
wife that she too was unaware of. It also took two months to bury
my daughter, which was an intensely distressing experience”. |
Sue Ainsworth’s Story
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Sue Ainsworth’s 21 year
old son, Jonathan, died suddenly in his sleep in April 2010.
Jonathan had been out with friends the night before and because of
his age, both the coroner and pathologist wrongly assumed that his
death was probably due to drink and / or drugs. They admitted this
at Jonathan’s inquest. This meant that proper investigations were
not undertaken to ascertain the true cause of death.
“Jonathan was no
different to any other 21 year old but I was shocked when the
coroner and the pathologist just assumed that his death must be due
to drink or drugs,” said Sue. “It was only after I spoke to
CRY and fought for his test results - which were returned four
months later - that it was revealed that he only had minimal alcohol
and no drugs in his system.”
“We also found out that at Jonathan’s post mortem a heart defect was
found which should have alerted the pathologist to a possible
hereditary cardiac defect. Following this, I insisted that
Jonathan’s sister, Rhiannon, was screened for heart defects although
the fact that we do not know the true cause of Jonathan’s death
makes this process harder.” |
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A cursory history of the background to efforts made in the last 150
years to reform the Coroner System
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1860
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Parliamentary Select Committee Report made
recommendations on coroner remuneration, election and method
of summoning juries when it was agreed that “the coroner
differs from all other judicial officers in that he
initiates his own proceedings…the Committee are unwilling to
deprive the coroner of the initiative” |
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1879 |
Parliamentary Select Committee Report took extensive
evidence on the Scottish system for investigating deaths
through Procurators Fiscal assisted by pathologists or other
doctors |
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1910 |
Chalmers Report made recommendations |
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1936 |
Lloyd Report made recommendations and that
the system had passed its sell by date |
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1971 |
Brodrick Report made recommendations;
demanding "drastic reform of 17th century concepts." In
1975, Home Secretary (Roy Jenkins) said no action was to be
taken on the report |
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1999 |
Home Office issued a circular with a draft
charter to be adopted by each coroner; there was no-one to
enforce it |
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2003 |
Luce
Report was made to update the system: His view was “During
the last three-quarters of a century, the Government has
twice commissioned reviews of these subjects, in 1936 and
1965. Very little happened in response to their reports. The
services are showing the consequences of this neglect. We,
and those whom we have consulted, hope that the inaction
will not continue” |
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2003 |
Dame Janet Smith asked for a single unified
service |
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2004 |
Home Office published a "position paper"
qualifying the Luce and Shipman reports |
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2006 |
The
Constitutional Affairs Committee had an inquiry and issued a
report followed by the publication of a Coroners Bill and
Draft Bereavement Charter |
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2009 |
Coroners and Justice Act 2009 received Royal
Assent |
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June 2010 |
Reviewed
after a change in government |
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January 2011 |
The Office of the Chief Coroner - one of the
offices to be abolished under the Public Bodies Bill
(introduced In the House of Lords) - itself removed from the
Bill (thereby the House of Lords did not agree to the
abolition of the Chief Coroner)
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February 2011 |
Public Bodies Bill to pass to the House of
Commons |
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Press Release
A leading heart
charity that offers specialist bereavement services following the sudden
death of young people from undiagnosed heart conditions, is warning that
the Government’s plans to abolish a key part of the Coroners and
Justice Act (2009) will have a devastating effect on thousands
of families across England and Wales.
Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) has campaigned for over
15 years for greater recognition of the conditions that cause sudden
death in young people and to ensure that these deaths are registered
appropriately and correctly.
However, last summer
(June 2010) the new Coalition Government announced its decision to axe
the role of Chief Coroner and Medical Officer - which had previously
been accepted as an essential part of a new, reformed Coroners Service
for the 21st century; along with a National Charter and Code of
Practice.
Whilst this controversial
decision is apparently part of a major cost cutting exercise, expert
opinion now suggests that this ill-considered economy will simply leave
an unaccountable and unhelpful service, adding to the suffering of
bereaved families at one of the most devastating and vulnerable times
of their lives.
In response to the acute
needs of bereaved families, CRY had already established (2007) a
specialist laboratory at the world famous Royal Brompton Hospital,
dedicated to ‘free fast-tracking’ of pathology referrals from Coroners
where sudden cardiac death is suspected, to ensure that families receive
a swift and accurate diagnosis about the tragic death. The CRY
laboratories also identify hereditary abnormalities, which alert
families to the immediate screening necessary to prevent further deaths.
Alison Cox MBE, Chief
Executive and Founder of CRY comments; “Under the current system,
coroners are not accountable as there is no Appeals System. There are
many wonderful coroners who make enormous efforts to diminish the
suffering of the bereaved by every available means, including seeking
the necessary expert fast-track pathology for cases of sudden death in
fit and healthy young people.
"However, there are still
too many that do not understand the urgency or consider the impact on
the family if they do not make a full and proper effort to investigate
the cause of death. It is almost impossible under the current system to
make these coroners accountable even though they catastrophically
increase suffering of those under their care at this terrible time.
“At CRY, along with a
number of other charities who work with bereaved families, parents and
spouses, we know how critically important the role of the Chief Coroner
is going to be in empowering the Appeals Process. Without anyone to
oversee this ancient, judicial system it will be impossible to enforce
national standards, leaving our current, antiquated inquest system unfit
for the 21st century.”
Those who are suddenly
confronting a tragedy need a Coroners Service that will help them
understand the cause of death of the person who has died. Families must
be kept informed and consulted and their feeling, wishes and
expectations must be listened to.
Previous reports to
Government dating form 1908 have consistently highlighted the need for
change. This is not going to happen if the Coroner’s Service is to be
left without the crucial leadership of a Chief Coroner to enforce
national standards. The current post-code lottery of variation in the
quality of service given will remain and could in some instances prove
fatal.
Alison Cox adds;
“In the past, the treatment of some parents bereaved through a young
sudden cardiac death has been appalling. Many have had to wait months,
or even years to find out a cause of death and their concerns have been
treated with little respect. The chances of a poorly performing coroner being brought to
account are remote.
“Together with our
families, we have campaigned hard to raise awareness of the importance
of the coroner’s service and the improvements that should be made. Now
the abolition of the key position that will oversee the reforms that so
many have so eagerly waited for, means that these reforms face an
uncertain future."
Fortunately, the
Government's proposed revisions to the Coroners and Justice Act (2009)
met with vigorous opposition in the House of Lords on December 14th
2010, who thwarted its final passage through Parliament with a strong
majority favouring retention of the Chief Coroner’s role.
Consequently the Lords' proposed revisions will be re-presented to Parliament in February 2011,
giving CRY a window of opportunity to continue campaigning vigorously
for Government to reconsider and raise awareness via the national media.
Kevan Jones MP (who is a
long standing supporter of CRY) says: “The post of Chief Coroner is
vital if we are to drive up standards in the coroners’ service,
especially when dealing with cases of sudden cardiac death. I urge the
Government to listen to the experts on this issue and reinstate the role
a Chief Coroner to ensure the coroners’ service has the leadership it
needs.”
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CRY’s campaign to urge the government to re-think the proposed abolition of
the Chief Coroner role has already seen CRY supporters contact more than 160 MPs
and Lords to express their concerns:
Diane Abbott MP, Dave Anderson MP, Stuart
Andrew MP, Ian Austin MP, Lord Bach, John Baron MP, Guto Bebb MP, Alan Beith MP, Richard Benyon MP,
Crispin Blunt MP, Nick Boles MP,
Ben Bradshaw MP, Tom Brake MP, Angie Bray MP, Kevin Brennan MP, James
Brokenshire MP, Annette Brooke MP, Chris
Bryant MP, Robert Buckland MP, Richard Burden MP, Andy Burnham MP, Simon Burns MP, Paul Burstow
MP, Lorely Burt
MP, Liam Byrne MP, Douglas Carswell MP, William Cash MP, Rehmar Chishti MP, James Clappison
MP, Ken Clarke MP, Therese Coffey MP, Rosie Cooper MP, David Crausby MP, Ed
Davey MP, David
Davis MP, Jonathan Djanogly MP, Jim Dobbin MP, Frank Dobson MP, Stephen
Dorrell MP, Nadine Dorries MP, Jim Dowd MP, Jack Dromey MP, Michael Dugher MP, Iain Duncan Smith
MP, Clive Efford MP, Tobias Ellwood MP, Charlie Elphicke MP, George Eustice MP, Chris Evans MP, Lord Falconer, Michael Fallon MP,
Robert Flello MP, Caroline Flint MP, Yvonne Fovargue MP, Liam Fox MP, Edward Garnier
MP, Mark Garnier MP, David Gauke MP, Andrew George MP, Roger Godsiff MP, Zac Goldsmith MP, Helen Goodman MP, Michael Gove MP,
Richard Graham MP, Helen Grant MP, Chris Grayling MP,
Justine Greening MP, Ben Gummer MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Harriet Harman MP,
Richard Harrington MP, Rebecca Harris MP,
Oliver Heald MP, John Healy MP, David Heath MP,
John Hemming MP, Charles Hendry MP, Stephen Hepburn MP, Nick Herbert MP, Patricia Hewitt MP, Gerald Howarth MP,
Earl Howe, Lindsay Hoyle MP, Jeremy Hunt MP, Margot James MP, Sian James MP, Bernard Jenkin MP,
Alan Johnson MP, Gareth Johnson MP, Helen Jones MP, Tessa Jowell MP, Chris
Kelly MP, Liz Kendall MP, Sadiq Khan
MP, Kwasi Kwateng MP, Andrew Lansley MP, Andrea Leadsom MP, Philip Lee MP,
Charlotte Leslie MP, Peter Lilley MP, Stephen Lloyd MP, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Jack Lopresti MP,
Shabana Mahmood MP, Anne Main MP, Paul Maynard MP, Stephen McCabe MP, Lord McNally,
Stephen McPartland MP, Alun
Michael MP, David Miliband MP, Ann Milton MP, Andrew Mitchell MP, Grahame Morris MP, James
Morris MP, Steven Mosley MP, Sheryll
Murray MP, Robert Neill MP, Owen Paterson MP, Mike Penning MP, Claire Perry MP, Christopher Pincher MP,
Daniel Poulter MP, Mark Prisk MP, John Pugh MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, John Randall MP,
Lord Reid, Emma Reynolds MP, Linda Riordan MP, Andrew Robathan MP, Dan Rogerson MP, David Ruffley MP,
David Rutley MP, Grant Shapps MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Richard Shepherd MP, Chris Skidmore MP, Andy Slaughter MP, Owen Smith MP, Nicholas Soames MP, Peter Soulsby MP,
Bob Stewart MP, Gisela Stuart MP, Julian
Sturdy MP, Hugo Swire MP, Mark Tami MP, Emily Thornberry MP, David Tredinnick MP, Elizabeth
Truss MP, Andrew Turner MP, Karl Turner MP, Derek Twigg MP, Andrew Tyrie MP, Ed Vaizey MP,
Valerie Vaz MP, Charles Walker MP, Robert Walter MP, Steve Webb MP, James Wharton MP, Chris White MP, John Whittingdale MP,
Gavin Williamson MP, Phil Wilson MP, Sarah Wollaston MP, Jeremy Wright MP
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'It is a false economy to abolish the chief
coroner' (interview
from ePolitix)
The
government cites 'current economic conditions' as the
reason for abolishing the chief coroner. Alison Cox MBE,
chief executive and founder of Cardiac Risk in the Young
(CRY), tells ePolitix.com why in the end abolition will
cost more.
You are a charity that raises awareness of young sudden
cardiac death and sudden death syndrome and offers
specialist bereavement services following the sudden
death of young people from undiagnosed heart conditions.
What is your experience of the current coroners' system?
It is
patchy. There are a considerable number of terrific
coroners who go well beyond the call of duty in
supporting bereaved families. These coroners become a
legend with the family, who never forget how much they
have been helped at the most terrible time of their
lives. However, it is a postcode lottery. There are
random districts that have poorly performing coroners
who horribly exacerbate the grief of families by only
giving them what is required by law – which is
insufficient in regard to young sudden cardiac death.
The dead cannot speak for themselves and the bereaved
are often too distraught to do so.
The role of chief coroner was to oversee improvements in
the inquest system – what problems do the families you
support often encounter in the current system?
A coroner
who only follows the line of duty as required within the
current mandate is unlikely to refer the heart of the
deceased person on for expert pathology. Consequently
the bereaved family is not being given the chance to
learn what their child/partner died from. As most
sudden-death conditions of fit and healthy young (35 and
under) people are genetic, not having the correct
diagnosis of the cause of death means that other members
of the family could be at risk of dying from the same
condition. Not having expert cardiac pathology after a
young sudden death could literally prove fatal to
relatives of the person who has died.
Minister for justice, Jonathan Djanogly, has said the
government does not believe that the new, additional
funding the office of chief coroner would require is
justifiable – how would you respond to this?
We
believe that this is incorrect. The chief coroner would
ensure judicial oversight; enforce national standards;
increase accountability with an appeals system; ensure
fewer unnecessary delays; and introduce transparency
into the system. It would make the service fit for the
21st century. I do not see how they can justify NOT
funding this role which could save further lives. What
price can you put on that, particularly when the people
saved are young and apparently fit and healthy?
The post of chief coroner was originally created to
reduce the costs, both legal and administrative, of
defective decision-making. Do you think that a failure
to proceed with the appointment of a chief coroner is a
false economy?
I
passionately believe it is! Baroness Finlay of
Llandaff's address to the Lords on December 12, 2010
challenged the costs the government has assessed for
this position which is in excess of £10m. Her review
indicated that the costs would be closer to £500,000.
Experts believe that it will actually be more costly to
try and make the alterations the government is
suggesting, which is also likely to produce an inferior
service.
The chief coroner was going to provide a new appeals
process, how important would this process be for the
families you support?
It was
hoped that an ongoing development as part of the new
appeals process would be to give an opportunity to those
who had experience of the system to feed back their
comments on their experience. This feedback should
include positive endorsement as well as any
difficulties. Their appraisal would be extremely
valuable for the ongoing process of upgrading the
service to meet not only the needs of the state but also
the needs of those families that are trying to cope with
their tragedy.
The House of Lords removed the abolition of the role of
chief coroner from the Public Bodies Bill – do you think
it is possible this will not be re-instated when the
bill makes its way through the House of Commons?
We are
campaigning for the importance of the role of chief
coroner to be recognised, and have a petition we are
delivering to No10 on March 3. Please visit
http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/coronersbillcampaign.htm to
find out more and sign our petition.
The government says the weaknesses in the system can be
addressed without the role of chief coroner being
introduced – do you think this is possible?
No, I do
not. Expert opinion suggests it will be a significantly
diminished service and there will be no financial
advantage gained. Previous reports to government dating
from 1908 have consistently highlighted the need for
change. The Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which aimed
to deliver more effective and responsive justice and
coroners services for victims, took over eight years,
occupying most of the last decade to achieve cross-party
support and pass through the House of Commons. I think
the Bereavement Charter which sets out guidance for
bereaved people, including their rights and roles,
during coroner investigations and inquests will be at
risk without a chief coroner to give the service the
national leadership it deserves. I do not think it is
widely understood how important the coroners' service
really is. Establishing the role of chief coroner was a
crucial part of the Act, which is rendered hollow
without it.
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