Overview

This bill mandates that coroners in England and Wales investigating suicides must record their opinion on any relevant factors contributing to the death, specifically including gambling addiction. This information, while protecting the deceased's identity, may be shared with relevant care providers to aid in preventing future suicides.

Description

Amendments to Existing Legislation

The bill amends the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013. It adds a requirement for coroners or juries, when ruling a death a suicide, to document their opinion on any contributing factors. Crucially, this includes whether gambling addiction played a role.

Information Sharing

The bill allows coroners to share this information, excluding identifying details, with organizations providing care or support to vulnerable individuals. This aims to improve prevention strategies.

Geographic Scope and Enforcement

The bill applies only to England and Wales. The new rules will take effect two months after the bill's passage.

Government Spending

The bill is not expected to result in significant changes to government spending. The costs associated with implementing the new reporting requirements are likely to be absorbed within existing coroner service budgets.

Groups Affected

This bill primarily affects:

• Coroners and Juries: They will have additional reporting responsibilities during suicide inquests.
• Individuals with gambling addictions: The bill aims to indirectly help this group through improved data collection and potential prevention strategies.
• Organizations supporting vulnerable individuals: They may receive potentially useful information to help prevent further suicides.

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