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Inquests all change! Advice to local authorities
1 July 2008
The Coroner’s Amendment Rules 2008 have been introduced before
Parliament by the Justice Minister, Bridget Prentice and will
become law on 17 July 2008.
The new rules are being introduced before the Coroners and Death
Certification Bill in response to views expressed by bereaved
families, who wish for something positive to come out of the
inquest of a loved one.
Child protection
The Amendment Rules will introduce a new rule, Rule 57A to the
Coroners Rules 1984, which will require coroners to notify Local
Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) of the death of any child
reported to them. Coroners will be allowed to supply information
(such as post mortem reports and documents given in inquests) to
LSCBs. This will enable LSCBs to meet their statutory obligations,
including their responsibility to conduct child death reviews.
New Rule 43 powers
Currently, Rule 43 allows coroners to report the findings of an
inquest to an individual or body who may have the power to prevent
a similar death occurring in the future.
Briefly, Rule 43 will be amended in the following way:
- From 17 July 2008 onwards, a new statutory duty will be placed
on local authorities receiving reports from coroners to respond
within 56 days
- Coroners must share reports and responses with those, including
bereaved families, to whom they have assigned 'interested persons'
status
- Reports and responses will be centrally collated for the first
time so that any trends can be identified, monitored and lessons
learned can be shared widely
Local authorities will need to ensure that their responses to
reports from the coroner are prompt and accurate. Local authorities
should be mindful that any response may become public. This raises
the question whether local authorities will face claims in
negligence if they fail to implement changes recommended in
coroner’s reports, or proposed in their responses, and a further
death occurs.
If a local authority has any concerns about the content of its
response it should consult its legal advisors.
The Insurance and Public Risk Team regularly advises and assists
its clients with inquests. If you require any further information
about these changes please contact David Maggs, Chris Webb-Jenkins or Steven Conway.
The content of this bulletin is provided for
the purposes of general interest and information. It contains only
brief summaries of aspects of the subject matter and does not
provide comprehensive statements of the law. It does not constitute
legal advice and does not provide a substitute for it.