Clause 8
6:00 pm
Bridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour)
The hon. and learned Gentleman is right: it was a point about what size the panel will be. Those who can be jurors in an inquest are those who are qualified under the Juries Act 1974. The coroner will be able to question the persons summoned to ensure that they are properly qualified, resident and can be sworn properly to sit on the jury.
Unlike the Crown court, coroners only summon jurors for particular inquests, as we know. It therefore seems unreasonable to summon large numbers of people to serve, considering the changes that some will inevitably need to make to their work and care arrangements. So, it did not seem appropriate to summon far more jurors than might be in the Crown court, as they are unlikely to be required. We also wanted to make sure that if for some a reason a juror dropped out part way through an inquest, the whole inquest would not have to be re-started and a new jury summoned. The coroner will have the power to summon persons to attend and they will be sworn either by him or in his presence. In answer to the hon. Member for Daventry, there will be no opportunity for interested parties to make objections to the jurors who are summoned.