Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the independent maternity review chaired by Donna Ockenden, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the jurisdiction of Coroners in England and Wales to give them permission to hold full inquests into stillbirths.

The Government is committed to reviewing each of the recommendations in the Ockenden Report and will respond appropriately in due course.

The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care have jointly consulted on proposals to provide coroners with new powers to investigate stillbirths. The consultation can be found at Consultation on Coronial Investigations of Stillbirths (justice.gov.uk). The Government’s response to the consultation has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are working to publish it as soon as possible.