Coroners and Justice Bill

This has been a very helpful and thorough debate about these provisions in the Bill. I know that my noble friend Lady Finlay and the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, will also want to reflect on some of the helpful points that the Minister has made. It certainly would not be my wish to push some of these questions much further. I was pleased when the Minister said that even though he was not prepared to put the role of the national coroner in working out new certification procedures on a statutory basis, there would nevertheless be proper consultation with him or her when they are appointed. I am also grateful to the Minister for his reply on funding. I had not heard that figure of £45 million before. I was glad to hear what he said about the need for more robust quality assurance and the introduction of a single fee, which would be less for families to pay in future. That is welcome too. The Minister made a remark about the need to guard against stigmatisation and the merits that there might be in a short certificate in guarding against that. I think there would be widespread agreement among the Committee over that. The one matter that I would still like to press the Minister on, and which I will certainly think about further and would be willing to discuss further with him, is the introduction, at least, of some king of pilot scheme to try out the proposals that Dame Janet Smith and the Shipman inquiry team came forward with. My mind is always concentrated when I look at the examples that she gave me of certificates that were issued by Dr Harold Shipman. When I look at the cursory way in which some of these deaths, mainly of elderly people, were dealt with, I think it behoves us—in light of the enormity of the offences that were committed at that time—to consider the recommendations of Dame Janet and her inquiry team to streamline the way in which these certificates are issued after someone has died. Having looked through the explanatory note and proposals that she has put forward for a more unified form of certification, it would be sensible at least to trial this in some parts of the country to see how it works. I do not know whether that will be possible for regulation, but maybe I can correspond further with the Minister on that point. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment 64 withdrawn. Amendments 65and 66 not moved.