Coroners and Justice Bill

It may be in the best interests of the House if I give the Government’s response now. The amendment is about the death registration system, and would oblige the Lord Chancellor to make provision in regulations for short death certificates. I fully understand the reasons for this amendment. The cause of death of a loved one is a private matter unless it is clearly necessary for an organisation, such as an insurance company, to have that information. I can well understand that its unwarranted disclosure can cause the bereaved family unnecessary hurt. In principle, the Government have accepted the case for the introduction of a short death certificate. That remains our position. But we need to prioritise the reforms to the death registration system. Our priority in this Bill is to address the deficiencies in the current arrangements for scrutinising deaths identified by the Shipman inquiry. Implementing the reforms in the Bill will be a major undertaking. The introduction of a short death certificate would require changes to IT systems and have other resource implications. I do not want to exaggerate the scale of the resource implications, but it is a consideration that we need to keep in mind. The difficulty that I have with the wording of this amendment is that it places an absolute duty on the Lord Chancellor to make regulations. As an aside, it is worth pointing out that the regulations should properly be made by the Registrar-General. We need some flexibility to allow us properly to sequence reforms to the death certification arrangements. If the noble Lord would agree to withdraw his amendment, I will see what I can do about bringing forward an appropriately worded amendment at Third Reading that would confer a power to introduce a short death certificate, but afford some greater flexibility as to the timing. Of course, it will be open to the noble Lord to reintroduce his amendment at Third Reading if he is not satisfied. I hope on that basis that he will agree to withdraw his amendment.