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Coroners System (Reform)

I warmly welcome my right hon. and learned Friend’s statement. For seven of my eight years in this House I have asked for reform of the coroner’s office, because on Teesside we have waited years and years for a coroner’s report. When a 12-year-old girl dies in an accident while playing with a swing, that is a tragedy; when her mother has to wait two years and three months to find out the cause, that is desperately bad for all of us. I hope that my right hon. and learned Friend’s reforms will change it. I seek reassurance that the national framework will ensure that coroners have the power to fill gaps in the service so that we all benefit from a professional service.