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Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, I very much support the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham. It is an odd thing that the Ministry of Justice and its predecessors have been engaged in bringing all the different groups of those who are either judges, tribunal chairmen or judicial officers under one roof. The Leggatt reforms and the legislation passed by this House not so long ago have meant that tribunal chairmen now become judges. The tribunals right across the country which were not part of the Courts Service are now part of the Courts Service. The magistrates were a separate service; they are now, partly at least, run by the Courts Service. I believe I am right in saying that the only group of judicial officers with judicial functions who are sitting in a situation similar to a judge—except that their work is inquisitorial rather than largely adversarial—are not under the Courts Service. As far as I know, there is no other group of judicial officers that is not in the Courts Service. There are obviously practical reasons why the Government do not want to do it. Presumably it would cost more money, but I know from personal experience that when there are very big inquests the Government foot the bill anyway. I would have thought that it was not beyond the wit of the Government—particularly the Ministry of Justice—to think of the importance of having all judges, all tribunal chairmen, all magistrates and all coroners operating under the same system. It would be a great advantage for the coroners. It would give them and their Chief Coroner added clout, as the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, said. It would also be a very tidy way of dealing with every aspect of the judicial work that goes on in this country.