Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ask coroners to prioritise post-mortems and the holding of inquests for babies that have died.

Whilst mindful of how tragic and disturbing the loss of a child is, coroners are independent judicial office holders and therefore it would be inappropriate for Ministers to advise them on how they should make their judicial decisions.

The Chief Coroner, who provides leadership, guidance and support to coroners, has issued Guidance No. 28 to coroners on decision making and expedited decisions.