Overview

This bill mandates that coroners in England and Wales, when ruling a death a suicide, must record their opinion on the contributing factors. This information will be anonymized, analyzed by the Office for National Statistics, and used to inform suicide prevention strategies. The bill also clarifies that this recorded information cannot be used as evidence in court.

Description

Key Changes

The Coroners (Determination of Suicide) Bill amends the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and the Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013. It introduces a requirement for coroners to record an opinion on the factors contributing to a suicide following an inquest. The Secretary of State will issue guidance on the factors to be considered and the format of the recorded opinion, including the option to state "no discernible factor". This recorded information will be anonymized and published annually by the Office for National Statistics, excluding any identifying details of the deceased.

Data Handling

The recorded opinions will be anonymized to protect the identities of the deceased. They will be inadmissible as evidence in any court proceedings. The Office for National Statistics will publish aggregated, anonymized data annually, one year after the bill's passage.

Government Spending

The bill doesn't directly specify increased government spending. The costs associated with implementing the new requirements (guidance issuance, data analysis by the Office for National Statistics) are likely to be absorbed within existing budgets for the relevant departments. No specific figures are provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

• Coroners: They will have an additional duty to record their opinion on contributing factors in suicide cases.
• The Office for National Statistics: They will be responsible for publishing anonymized data annually.
• The Secretary of State: Responsible for issuing guidance on the implementation of the new requirements.
• Suicide prevention organizations and researchers: Will have access to anonymized data to improve understanding of suicide and develop preventative strategies.
• Families of suicide victims: May indirectly benefit from improved suicide prevention efforts resulting from the data analysis.

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