Changes To The Coroners Bill Announced

The Government has announced revisions to its draft Coroners Bill and has committed to bringing the draft Bill before parliament as soon as parliamentary time allows. For public authorities the most important changes concern the powers of Coroners to make recommendations, to require documents, to require a jury for workplace deaths and, for relevant authorities, the administration of the Coroner service. Public authorities need to know and understand how the Coroner service will operate so that they can engage effectively with the Coroner and avoid unnecessary criticism.

Background

The draft Coroners Bill was published in June 2006 and has since then been the subject of extensive consultation.