Draft Coroners and Death Certification Bill

The purpose of the Bill is to deliver an improved system of deathinvestigation for families in order to ensure that the cause of deathof a relative has been properly established and so that lessons can belearned to prevent future deaths.

The Bill includes provisions to create a new national coroner service and a new chief coroner, to introduce new powers of investigation for coroners, and to introduce a new charter for the bereaved.

The coroners’ section of the Bill has already been published indraft by the Ministry of Justice and has been subject to extensiveconsultation. The government will be publishing shortly its response tothe consultation on death certification policy and new clauses will beadded to the Bill to reflect the agreed approach.

Ministry of Justice

Draft Coroners Bill