Although she has never been in contact with the Isle of Wight Coroner’s office, Baroness Hodgson of Abinger has, for the second time, raised the issue of Inquest delays on the Island in Parliament.
As reported by News OnTheWight back in August, due to a number of complex issues (read in full here), like several other parts of the country, the Isle of Wight has experienced long delays to Inquests.
In England and Wales the average time from a death being reported to the completion of an Inquest is 31 weeks, whereas on the Island it is 56 weeks.
The question
However, Baroness Hodgson’s second written question to Government spoke of longer delays,
“To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Bellamy on 2 August, what assessment they have made of reports that some inquests on the Isle of Wight have been unresolved for over 120 weeks; what support is being provided to any affected relatives; what steps they will take, if any, to clear this backlog; and whether such delays are consistent with their policy that the “bereaved remain at the heart of the coroner system.”
Only three cases with 120 week delay
Any delay to the outcome of an Inquest is no doubt extremely painful for families and friends of the deceased, but News OnTheWight understands there are just three cases on the Island that are unresolved for over 120 weeks.
It’s worth noting that these delays are against a rising workload of cases the Coroner’s office have to manage, which to put into context, pre-Covid the Isle of Wight Coroner was hearing an average of 130-140 inquests each year (double what her predecessor was hearing).
Did Baroness contact the Coroner?
News OnTheWight got in touch with Baroness Hodgson to see whether she had been in touch with the Isle of Wight Coroner, Caroline Sumeray, to understand the reasons for the delay.
She confirmed that she had not, but the person who had been in touch with her office had been waiting over 120 weeks for her Mother’s Inquest to be resolved.
“This is very unhelpful to those who are bereaved,” she added.
Hodgson: “No immediate plans to speak to the Coroner”
News OnTheWight shared with Baroness Hodgson the comprehensive response given by Caroline Sumeray to our questions in August and asked again whether she would be speaking to the Coroner to hear personally the details of the challenges the Coroner’s office is facing.
She said,
“Clearly the reasons for the backlog are complex. However, I think that this is very hard for the families who have waited a long time for an Inquest.”
She confirmed that she had “no immediate plans to speak to the Coroner”.
Visit from the Chief Coroner
Lord Bellamy replied to Baroness Hodgson’s question by saying,
“However, my officials are considering with the Chief Coroner’s Office what actions can appropriately be taken to support the Senior Coroner in this context.”
Adding that,
“The Chief Coroner is undertaking a tour of all coroner areas in England and Wales in order to engage with them on post-pandemic recovery plans. I understand he expects to prioritise a visit the Isle of Wight coroner area by the end of this year.”
Article edit
12.25pm 5th Oct 2022 – 2nd para changes from “the Isle of Wight has experienced longer delays to Inquests than in other parts of the country” to “like several other parts of the country, the Isle of Wight has experienced long delays to Inquests”
