Page 27 - When Things Go Wrong

IT systems costing millions of pounds more than the systems used by other
inquiries of comparable length”.
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2.23 Along with the ‘Inquiries Guidance’, the Central Inquiries Unit should
provide a repository of chairs’ reports, lessons learned papers, statements
of values and procedural protocols from previous inquiries, as well as
retaining a database of previous secretaries and solicitors.

2.24 The storage and provision of information should benefit not only those tasked
with establishing and managing inquiries. CEDR’s report envisaged an
“Independent Inquiries Office could be a go-to resource for members of the
media, researchers and the public to find out about past Inquiries”. We agree
that the Central Inquiries Unit should have a public-facing role, taking
questions from the media and ensuring that the information it compiles is
held on a publicly accessible, clearly structured website. The House of
Commons Library, an independent research and information unit providing
impartial information for MPs and their staff, serves as an instructive
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comparator.

Coroners and the Office of the Chief Coroner

Local authority administration

2.25 Coroners and their officers provide a service that is operated and administered
at a local level. While coroners’ services nationally are underpinned by a
statutory framework under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (“the 2009
Act”), each coroner is appointed, paid and their service funded by the relevant
local authority.
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52 The Lords Select Committee likewise recommended that beyond the storage of archival material, the
unit should be “responsible for all the practical details of setting up an inquiry, whether statutory or non-
statutory, including but not limited to assistance with premises, infrastructure, IT, procurement and
staffing”. See Select Committee on the Inquiries Act, supra note 30, para 174.
53 See the House of Commons Library website.

st
54 HHJ Peter Thornton QC, ‘The Coroner System in the 21 Century’ (Howard League for Penal Reform
Parmoor Lecture, 25 October 2012).
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