Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to implement the recommendation of the Chief Coroner, set out in his Annual Report 2016 - 2017, that coroner areas should provide an out-of-hours service to meet the needs of those whose faiths require early burial.

Out of hours services in London are funded and arranged by local authorities and the Metropolitan Police Service. The Government is clear about the importance of out of hours’ coroner services and in recent years it has worked with local authorities and the police to encourage the deployment of additional staff. Last October eight additional members of staff who will work out of hours took up post, recruited and employed by the police, but the Government will continue to work with local authorities and the police on this.

The availability of out of hours services in London will benefit the whole community, not just people of any particular faith.