Coroners

The Home Office has responsibility for matters relating to coroners.

The Home Office's main responsibilities are:

• to develop coroners policy and practice;
• to service meetings with experienced coroners and a wider consultative committee consisting of representatives from relevant Departments and agencies (the Coroner Service Consultative Committee);
• to facilitate training for coroners; and
• to deal with public correspondence about coroners and their inquests.

The Home Office also has statutory responsibilities for the appointment of coroners (London and metropolitan counties only); changes to the boundaries of coroners' districts; directions to coroners in respect of holding an inquest in certain circumstances; and the setting of certain fees and allowances. A newsletter is issued to coroners.

Current work, based on a study of the coroner service in 1996/97,aims to develop a more effective management of the service in conjunction with the local authorities (who are responsible for the appointment and pay of coroners), the Lord Chancellor's Department (the disciplinary authority) and the police (who usually provide support staff or coroners officers).

A report on the duties and responsibilities of coroners' officers has been produced. Ministers are interested in ensuring that coroners provide a high quality service to the public. To this end a Model Coroners' Charter has recently been produced.

Coroners' enquiries and inquests are conducted in accordance with the Coroners Act 1988 and the Coroners Rules 1984.

Following the Report of the Fundamental Review of Death Certification and Coroner Services and in response to recommendations made in the Third Report of the Shipman Inquiry, a Coroner Reform Programme has begun, please see the Coroner Reform page for more details.

Key documents

Some of the documents below are in PDF format. To view them, you may first need to download a free copy of the Adobe Acrobat reader.

• HOC 15/04: Increases In Financial Loss Allowances For Jurors And Ordinary Witnesses, In Fees For Professional Witnesses In Coroners' Courts, And In Fees For Coroners' Post-Mortems
• HOC 20/99: Deaths in police custody: guidance to the police on pre-inquest disclosure
• HOC 30/99: Post mortem examinations and the early release of bodies
• Home Office Circular 35/2000 Responding To Tracing And Similar Enquiries ( file size 43 kb)
• Home Office Circular 59/1999: The Coroners (Amendment) Rules 1999
• Statutory Instrument 1999 No 3325: The Coroners (Amendment) Rules 1999
• Home Office Circular No 46/1999: Coroner Service: Model Coroners' Charter.
• Home Office Circular 30/1999: Post mortem examinations and the early release of bodies (dated 24th June 1999)
• Home Office Circular 54/2002: Fees for Copies of Coroner's Records ( file size 24 Kb)
• Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2401 The Coroners' Records (Fees for Copies) Rules 2002

A leaflet has been produced to advise on procedure in the event of a sudden death:

• Sudden Death leaflet English version ( file size 118 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Bengali version ( file size 87 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Chinese version ( file size 251 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Gujarati version ( file size 108 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Hindi version ( file size 171 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Punjabi version ( file size 59 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Somali version ( file size 54 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Urdu version ( file size 371 kb)
• Sudden Death leaflet Welsh version ( file size 56 kb)

Your jury service in the coroner's court leaflet is available by emailing public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk