Schedule 2
Coroners and Justice Bill
6:15 pm
Jennifer Willott (Cardiff Central, Liberal Democrat)
It would make it more difficult if there were a number of different medical examiners who a coroner would be liaising with on a regular basis. Amendment 126, which I have also tabled, relates to the situation when the boundaries of coroner areas are changed. The wording of the Bill suggests that currently, the Lord Chancellor must consult the local authorities that he deems appropriate. I am sure that that is the intention, but since it is not clear in the Bill, my amendment clarifies that he must consult the local authorities that are affected by the boundary change. Usually, I would have expected that the Lord Chancellor would do that automatically, but it is not clear in the Bill that that is the requirement. Given that coroner areas are often across different local authority areas, and that any changes could affect multiple local authorities both before and after the change, it seems sensible that it is a requirement that all of those affected should be consulted. Otherwise, it would all be too easy for somebody to be missed out and not noticed.