Decision details
Future structure of the Coroners Services in North Yorkshire and York
Decision Maker: Chief Executive Officer
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: Yes
Decision:
Subject to formal approval by the City of York
Council, to submit the business case to the Ministry of Justice and
Chief Coroner seeking permission to merge all three existing
coroners areas into one area.
Subject to formal approval by the City of York Council, to approve
the proposed Service Level Agreement with the City of York
Council.
Reasons for the decision:
The only proposal that the Chief Coroner and
the Ministry of Justice will realistically accept will be a merger
of the three existing areas. The three areas are now effectively
functioning as one area with a shared Senior Coroner and
administrative support team and systems.
Alternative options considered:
1)Merge the two North Yorkshire area areas but
without a merger with the City of York;
2)The increased use of Assistant Coroners to reduce the hours
worked by the appointed Senior Coroner (being mindful of the
expected workload and the impact on their health and
wellbeing);
3)The use of a legal executive to help manage the Coroners’
workload.
All of these options are less cost-effective and less beneficial
than the one Senior Coroner model.
Publication date: 29/04/2021
Date of decision: 29/04/2021
Effective from: 08/05/2021