Evidence submitted by Caroline Beasley-Murray,
HM Coroner for Essex & Thurrock
ABOUT THE
WRITER
I am legally qualified (a former barrister)
and have been the whole-time coroner for the Essex and Thurrock
District since 2000. I also sit as a president of Mental Health
Review Tribunals and am a former lay magistrate.
The Essex and Thurrock district comprises all
of the county of Essex, excluding the unitary authority of Southend,
and has a population in excess of a million. Within this jurisdiction
are Stansted Airport, Chelmsford Prison and Young Offenders Institution,
an Army garrison, four large hospital trusts, many large industrial
areas, an extensive coastline, part of the M25 motorway and other
major roads, rural areas etc.
Around 4,500 deaths are reported to me annually.
This jurisdiction would appear to be of a similar size to that
envisaged in the new coroners service.
I am fully committed to the future of the coroners
service and wish to strive for and work within an improved and
reformed service.
Specific coroner areas of expertise and interest:
— Member of the Law Review and General
Purpose Committee of the Coroners Society.
— Member of the Coroners Study Committee
(joint Department of Constitutional Affairs/coroner membership)
which is responsible for delivery of training for coroners.
— Director of induction courses for
newly appointed coroners.
— In July 2005 sent by the Department
of Constitutional Affairs and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
to Sharm-el-sheikh as "lead" coroner to oversee the
identification of the eleven UK victims of the bombings.
— Past President, South East England
Coroners Society.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Purpose of submission:
— to express thoughts upon the reform
proposals;
— to draw attention to areas of particular
concern; and
— to suggest certain recommendations
for action by the government which might be included in the Select
Committee's report to the House.
Any views expressed are entirely my own.
GENERAL RESPONSE
TO REFORM
PROPOSALS
I broadly welcome the way forward which has
been outlined by the government. The six key reforms should provide
a coroner service more fit for the twenty first century.
— Recent events and the two reports
have clearly shown the importance of facilitating more involvement
by bereaved people in coroners' investigations. It is my view
that there should be more opportunities for involvement by bereaved
families in the investigation and inquest process. Presently charters
are produced at local level—a nationally validated coroners'
charter will be helpful.
— I am of the opinion that national
leadership is sorely needed and it is to be hoped that this national
leadership will put in place solid mechanisms for disseminating
national standards and values to local councils.
— I welcome the creation of a body
of full-time coroners in conjunction with the formation of a smaller
number of coroner jurisdictions. This should result in enhanced
professionalism and the delivery of an improved service.
— I consider that the modernisation
of investigation and inquest processes is long overdue, as is
also the ending of archaic boundary restrictions which hamper
coordinated action, for instance, in mass fatalities incidents.
My experience of the practical application of s14 Coroners Act
1988, whereby jurisdiction can be transferred between coroners
with ultimate recourse to the Secretary of State, is that it does
not always work smoothly. Modern legislation is needed to meet
the challenges of mass fatalities in the UK and abroad.
— I have long been of the view that
a discretion for coroners to complete their investigations and
decide upon the facts without holding inquests in certain circumstances
would be beneficial. This situation would be akin to the practice
in the State of Victoria, Australia, of concluding certain investigations
by way of "chambers findings". The present regime which
dictates that all inquests are held in open court with the attendant
presence of the press can intrude unnecessarily into private grief.
I am aware that this is not a stance taken by all my colleagues.
— I welcome the provision of better
medical advice and support at local and national level. I do this
in the light of having seen in action the Clinical Review Liaison
Service which is part of the Victorian coroner service (incidentally,
the State of Victoria has a similar number of reported deaths
to my jurisdiction). I also do this having regard to the results
of the pilot for a medical examiner scheme carried out in my jurisdiction
at the behest of the Home Office in the Autumn of 2004. (Copies
of the report can be supplied to the committee upon request.)
There is no doubt that input of medical expertise and support
would be of great value for coroners at each stage of the investigation
and inquest process.
AREAS OF
CONCERN
1. RESOURCES
I am concerned that local authorities may not
be able to fund the coroner service to the extent that the reformed
system will require. Essex County Council, for instance, is extremely
supportive but each year the coroner service budget is exceeded
and I presume that this situation exists in many other local authorities.
The demands upon the service are unlikely to lessen, not least
as a result of their lordships' decisions in Regina v. Her
Majesty's Coroner for the Western District of Somerset (Respondent)
and other (Appellant) ex parte Middleton (FC) (Respondent) and
Regina v. Her Majesty's Coroner for the County of West Yorkshire
(Appellant) ex parte Sacker (FC) (Respondent) which broadened
the scope of inquests in which Article 2 is engaged, so that the
inquest forms part of the state's obligation to investigate deaths
at the hands of or in the care of the state.
For some time the police have tended to regard
their responsibility for the funding of coroners officers as a
short term situation, but now that the government has clarified
the way forward I fear that there may still be reluctance to provide
the necessary resources to meet a reformed service under ever
increasing pressures. During my five years in post I have had
constantly to ask Essex Police to provide the necessary resources
for a coroner officers' establishment which has lacked resilience.
For example, Essex Police has withdrawn the provision of deputy
coroner officers with a resulting detrimental effect upon the
standard of service for the bereaved.
Suggested recommendation
— That the Government ensures that
there is sufficient funding, both from local government and police
authorities, for the reformed coroners service as envisaged.
2. MEDICAL INPUT
AND SUPPORT
I hope that there will be clear guidance as
to how this will be provided and by whom it will be funded. My
experience with the medical examiner pilot scheme demonstrated
that a great deal of inter-agency work was needed at local level—for
instance, I liaised with the local Primary Care Trusts, with Hospital
Trusts, with general practitioners, with the Strategic Health
Authority and with the local registrars. There has to be a well
financed, structured mechanism for the delivery of this much needed
medical assistance.
Suggested recommendations
— That the Government puts in place
efficient, well resourced structures nationally and locally to
deliver medical input and support for coroners.
— That the Government considers piloting
such schemes locally in the near future.
3. TRAINING
The Fundamental Review carried out by Tom Luce
emphasised the importance of compulsory training at both induction
and continuation level for coroners. Over the last few years,
great strides have been made in the area of coroner training—for
instance, whereas induction training used to comprise of a few
hours training prior to another course, there is now provided
four days of induction training which compares favourably with
the amount required of newly appointed members of the judiciary.
Over the last few years, we have reaped the benefit of increasing
input from the Judicial Studies Board in the area of coroner training.
It is to be hoped that as a result of the responsibility for the
funding of the coroner service not moving to the Department of
Constitutional Affairs but remaining with local authorities, all
this progress will not be lost. It would be helpful if the government
were to make it clear that these links with the Judicial Studies
Board will be maintained and developed.
Suggested recommendations
— That the Government acknowledges
the improvements which have been made over the last few years
in the provision of training for coroners
— That the Government ensures that
there continues to be increasing input from the Judicial Studies
Board into the delivery of training for coroners.
— That the Government puts in place
a mandatory scheme of continuing professional development for
coroners
4. COURT ACCOMMODATION
Very few coroners have purpose-built court accommodation
and many have difficulty in obtaining accommodation for inquests.
When Tom Luce presented his Fundamental Review at a press conference,
as an illustration of how lacking in facilities the present coroner
service is, he referred to his shock at discovering when he visited
me that, as a whole-time coroner with one of the largest jurisdictions
in the country, I worked from an office in my own home and held
inquests in a room in Shire Hall with a small kitchen as a retiring
room. I currently hold most inquests in the Essex County Council
Chamber, but this is not available on days when citizenship ceremonies
are taking place and it has other drawbacks too. I have campaigned
successfully for a purpose-built coroners court and, with the
support of my local member of parliament, Mr Simon Burns, the
member for West Chelmsford, I have been able to get coroner court
accommodation within a Public Finance Initiative Magistrates'
Court scheme. This new build, however, has been delayed for various
reasons and there now seems to be uncertainty about the funding
for the coroners court. My fear is that this uncertainty will
continue now that it is known that funding for the coroner service
will not come from the Department of Constitutional Affairs but
will remain the responsibility of local government. When the Lord
Chancellor attended the annual conference of the Coroners Society
in York last September, in answer to a question from the floor
from me on the subject of coroner court accommodation, he assured
us that local HM Court Services were encouraged to assist where
there are accommodation problems. This was reiterated by the Minister
in the House on 6 February 2006. However many magistrates' courts
are being closed and the serious problem of the lack of facilities
for coroners courts is not being addressed.
Suggested recommendations
— That the Government recognises that
the poor accommodation provided for coroner courts is a real barrier
to the delivery of a modern coroners service
— That the Government takes steps towards
the provision of appropriate coroners court facilities
5. CRITICISMS
OF CORONERS
Over the last few years, coroners have received
a bad press and Hansard columns 608 to 619 for 6 February
2006 when coroner service reform was debated in the House does
not make happy reading because it was clear that many people are
unhappy with the performance of the coroner service and of individual
coroners in particular.
There may be some of my colleagues who present
as "arrogant, unreformed relics of feudalism" and that
is most unfortunate. However I would like to assure the committee
that there are many of my colleagues who carry out their duties
as independent judicial officers with the utmost professionalism,
courtesy and sensitivity and this they do often in spite of inadequate
resources and facilities.
Another criticism which is levelled against
coroners is that of delay between the date of the death and the
matter coming to inquest. I would like to point out that there
are often many reasons for delay which are beyond the control
of the coroner concerned.
6. TIMESCALE
I am sure that I speak in unison with my colleagues
when I say that it is of grave concern that reform of the coroner
service has been so slow in coming to fruition. As the Secretary
of the Coroners Society observed when the government plans were
announced, the coroner service has for too long suffered from
blight.
Suggested recommendation
— That the Government publish a Bill
promptly and use its best endeavours to ensure that this piece
of legislation is on the statute book with expedition.
Caroline Beasley-Murray
HM Coroner for Essex & Thurrock
March 2006
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