The Local Authority and HM Coroners Giles Adey Coroners Service Manager Kent County Council

The Coroner Service - culture impacts on people through the most difficult times of their lives duty to investigate intrudes on grief in a public way care, support and understanding for all those who touch the service an important service to the living an understated service that too many people only get to know about when they are touched by a death not joined up nationally, currently no national minimum standards and success tends to rely on goodwill between stakeholders and Coroners

The Local Authority recruit and appoint Coroners rubber stamp deputy/asst deputy appointments pay Coroners meet all the reasonable costs associated with providing the service provide support to Coroners to enable them to discharge their legal obligations indemnify Coroners

Peer support & lobbying regional groups of LA Coroners Service Managers meet regularly to discuss areas of common concern and best practice share information and expertise eg contract for PM’s with NHS and body removals becoming influential at a national level eg Medical Examiner working closely with LGA on Medical Examiner but no national voice

The Coroner appointed (not employed) by the LA but once appointed LA has no control over conduct or performance and cannot dismiss appoint deputies and assistant deputies duty to investigate deaths and to hold inquests judicially reviewed if fails in his/her duty (not the LA) responsible for providing the Coroner’s service support LA Coroners Service Manager to discharge his/her obligations

Other stakeholders NHS and hospital doctors GP’s Police HMCS/County Courts Toxicology services Registrars Medical Referees Pathologists Funeral directors

My role five masters! (4 x coroners + KCC) manage budget for KCC identify and deliver savings for KCC work in partnership with Coroners and Kent Police (Coroners Officers) manage PM and body removal contracts resolve day to day operational issues and conflicts lobby nationally for modernisation through MOJ and LGA cannot do my job without the support of the Coroners

Conflicts and tensions judicial independence LA cannot compel a Coroner to do anything in some cases poor Coroner-LA relationships perceived lack of interest or understanding of budgets or the impact of their decisions on the public purse by Coroners lack of understanding by LA members and Chief Officers of the basic principles of the Coroners service and the Coroner-LA relationship no standard operating practices by Coroners - all seem to have so may different ways of doing the same job until now no national leadership of Coroners and outside of OJC no process for conflict resolution between Coroner and LA local authorities managers are accountable to their LA’s for their actions – who are Coroners accountable to? overspend on Coroners budget must be met by under spends in other services – not understood by some Coroners demand led service but many other LA services (including very sensitive ones eg child protection, adult social care etc) also demand led and have to operate within fixed budgets LA Members don’t see why Coroners is a more compelling case

Kent facts (staffing) 4 jurisdictions - 3 x P/T, 1 x F/T 2 x Coroners based at home, 1 x Solicitors practice, 1 x KCC register office 3 Coroners paid clerical and accommodation allowance to provide office and admin support 15 Coroners Officers (employed by Police) 1 x 0.6FTE Coroners Service Manager finance support

Kent activity data (2011) 1,684,100 residents (includes 256,700 Medway) 15,670 deaths (includes 2,092 Medway) 6,958 deaths reported 3,675 PMs PM’s as a %age of deaths reported – national average 42% (+8%, +9%, +18%, +6%) time to complete inquests – national average 27 weeks (+7%, -2%, - 11%, +5%) 808 inquests opened 722 verdicts returned 28 inquests adjourned gross budget £2.9m, net £2.45m SLA with Medway Council (15.29% - £0.475m)

Service costs (2012/13) Coroners Pay (inc long inquests, clerical & accommodation allowance, LGPS etc) £667,947 Pathologists, histology, Drs reports£697,818 PM contracts with NHS£1,055,632 Body removal contracts£185,160 Toxicology£203,504 Court hire£75,103 Other running costs£47,530 Income (Medway)-£475,000 Net expenditure£2,457,694

Typical operational costs salaries (inc long inquest payments, LGPS etc) deputy cover (leave, training, long inquests) accommodation for inquests (not just courts) PM’s, body storage body removal Coroner office accommodation and associated costs LA resources eg IT, HR, Finance, Property, Legal, Press Office witness/juror expenses expert witnesses pathologists toxicology, histology contingency planning – temporary mortuary recording equipment and transcriptions counsel to represent the inquest

Budget pressures KCC - £324m by 31/3/15 Coroners service not exempt from savings long inquests (backlog, pay, court hire etc) PM’s - cost shunting by NHS NHS inflation higher than local government body removal contracts

Solutions to funding issues rationalise Coroners districts formal procurement for coroners removals, toxicology etc business case for county mortuary and coroners court reduce the number of PM’s remove clerical and accommodation allowances - move Coroners and PA’s into LA offices avoid long inquest payments by appointing F/T coroners to P/T jurisdictions challenge Coroners long inquest claims for prep time use LA accommodation to hold inquests stop paying for routine doctors reports

Partnership approach, standards and transparency LA and Coroner – need for mutual respect, understanding and partnership approach work in partnership with major stakeholders must work in ‘partnership’ to deliver the best possible outcomes to bereaved people Coroners are public office holders – they have a duty to the public purse to critically review all expenditure they commit and to seek VFM greater transparency and scrutiny of costs - publication of comparative activity and budget data recruitment of Coroners – partnership approach between Coroner and LA must become the norm appointment of Chief Coroner is welcomed – will lead to national standards, consistent approach and sharing best practice collaboration at a national level between Coroners, MOJ, LA’s, Police and Chief Coroner – do we need a national panel similar to registration should Coroners be required to submit an annual report to the LA on the running of their jurisdiction and present it to Members appraisal and personal development for all Coroners

Blueprint for modernisation national Panel for the Coroner service move to full time Coroners new pay mechanism for Coroners and abolish long inquest payments holistic service – Coroners Officers employed by LA LA and Coroners - challenge each others views on service delivery in an open, honest and transparent way LA respects the judicial independence of Coroners and does not seek to influence or interfere in their decisions in determining the cause of death Coroners are mindful of the impact of all their decisions on the public purse and work with the local authority to ensure best practice and value for money LA and Coroner - work together in partnership to deliver the best possible outcomes to bereaved people and all those who come into contact with the service