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Public Bodies Bill [Lords] (Programme) (No. 2)

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Before the recent legislation, review after review into the coroner system recommended that a chief coroner was the only way to bring about the required changes. In 2003, the Luce review, a fundamental review into death certification and investigation, found that the coroner system was outdated, inconsistent and unsympathetic to families. One of its headline recommendations was for the establishment of a chief coroner position to handle appeals and oversee standards. That review was followed by Dame Janet Smith's third report of the Shipman inquiry, which again proposed that leadership for coroners should come from an independent chief coroner.