The Cremation, Coroners and Notification of Deaths (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Statutory Instruments

2024 No. 668

CORONERS, ENGLAND AND WALES

CREMATION, ENGLAND AND WALES

MEDICAL PROFESSION, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Cremation, Coroners and Notification of Deaths (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024

Made

20th May 2024

Laid before Parliament

21st May 2024

Coming into force

9th September 2024

The Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred on the Secretary of State by section 7 of the Cremation Act 1902(1) and on the Lord Chancellor by sections 18(1) and 43(1)(a) and (3)(g) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009(2).

In accordance with section 18(2) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009(3), the Lord Chancellor has consulted the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Chief Coroner.

In accordance with section 43(2) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Lord Chancellor has obtained the agreement of the Lady Chief Justice.

Citation, commencement and extent

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Cremation, Coroners and Notification of Deaths (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 and come into force on 9th September 2024.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

Amendment of the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008

2.—(1) The Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008(4) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2 (interpretation)—

(a) in paragraph (1), omit the definition of “medical certificate”(5);

(b) in paragraph (2), for “regulations 22(3), 23(1)(d) and (2) and 32(2)” substitute “regulation 32(2)”.

(3) After regulation 2 and before Part 2 insert—

“Application of Regulations in relation to deaths in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands

2A.— (1) This regulation applies where—

(a) an application for the cremation of the remains of a deceased person is made; and

(b) the death of the deceased person occurred in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands.

(2) Regulations 2, 12, 14(2), 16, 17, 22, 23(1) and (2), 24, 27 and 33 and forms Cremation 1, 4, 10 and 11 in Schedule 1 continue to have effect as in force immediately before 9th September 2024, subject to paragraph (3).

(3) Regulation 14(2) (as it has effect under paragraph (2) above) is to be read as if sub-paragraph (a) were omitted.”.

(4) In regulation 12 (supplementary powers of medical referee)(6), omit paragraph (b).

(5) In regulation 14 (forms)(7)—

(a) in paragraph (1), omit “regulation 37(3) and”;

(b) omit paragraph (2)(b) and the “and” immediately before it.

(6) In regulation 16 (cremation of the remains of a deceased person)(8), in paragraph (1)(c)—

(a) omit paragraph (i);

(b) in paragraph (ii), after “given by a coroner” insert “confirming that the body of the deceased person does not need to be retained for the purposes of an investigation by a coroner into the person’s death”;

(c) in paragraph (iii)—

(i) for “a certificate is given that” substitute “where”;

(ii) after “for that purpose” insert “, a certificate is given by a registered medical practitioner confirming that fact(9)”.

(7) Omit regulation 17 (medical certificate)(10).

(8) For regulation 18 (certificate of coroner) substitute—

“Certificate of coroner

18.— (1) This regulation applies for the purposes of regulation 16(1).

(2) This regulation applies where—

(a) a coroner has or had a duty under section 1 of the 2009 Act(11) to conduct an investigation into the death of the deceased person; or

(b) in a case where sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, the death of the deceased person occurred outside the British Islands.”.

(9) Omit regulation 22 (right to inspect medical certificate and to make representations to medical referee)(12).

(10) In regulation 23 (authorisation of cremation of the remains of a deceased person by medical referee)(13)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (a), after “regulation 16(1)(a), (b) and (c)” insert “(so far as relevant)”;

(ii) omit sub-paragraphs (b) to (d);

(b) omit paragraph (2);

(c) omit paragraph (3).

(11) Omit regulation 24 (medical referee not satisfied about the cause of death of the deceased person)(14).

(12) In regulation 27 (authorisation of cremation by medical referee – inquiries by medical referee), omit paragraphs (2) and (3).

(13) In regulation 30 (disposal of ashes), in paragraph (1), in the opening words omit “and regulation 37(5) and (6)”.

(14) In regulation 33 (register kept by registrar), omit paragraph (2)(k).

(15) In regulation 37 (savings and transitional provisions)(15), omit paragraphs (3), (5) and (6).

(16) In Schedule 1 (forms)—

(a) for form Cremation 1 (application for cremation of the body of person who has died)(16) substitute the form in Schedule 1;

(b) omit form Cremation 4 (medical certificate);

(c) for form Cremation 6 (certificate of coroner)(17) substitute the form in Schedule 2;

(d) for form Cremation 10 (authorisation of cremation of deceased person by medical referee) substitute the form in Schedule 3;

(e) omit form Cremation 11 (certificate after post-mortem examination).

Amendment of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013

3.  In the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013(18), in the Schedule (forms)—

(a) for Form 2 (notice of discontinuance) substitute the form in Schedule 4;

(b) for Form 3 (order for burial) substitute the form in Schedule 5.

Amendment of the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019

4.—(1) The Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019(19) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 1 (citation, commencement and meaning of “relevant senior coroner”)—

(a) in the heading, for “meaning of “relevant senior coroner”” substitute “interpretation”;

(b) for paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) In these regulations—

“attending practitioner”, in relation to a deceased person, means a registered medical practitioner who attended the deceased person before their death;

“relevant senior coroner”, in relation to a death, means the senior coroner appointed for the coroner area(20) in which the body of the deceased person lies.”.

(3) In regulation 2 (duty to notify a relevant senior coroner of a death), for paragraph (2) substitute—

“(2) But the duty in paragraph (1) does not apply if the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that—

(a) the relevant senior coroner has already been notified of the death under these Regulations; or

(b) a referral has been made to the relevant senior coroner under regulation 3(1)(b)(ii) or 10(1) of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024(21).”.

(4) In regulation 3 (circumstances in which the duty to notify arises)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) in sub-paragraph (c)(i), for “attending medical practitioner required to sign a certificate of cause of death” substitute “attending practitioner”;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (e), for “attending medical practitioner required to sign a certificate of cause of death” substitute “attending practitioner”;

(iii) for sub-paragraph (f) substitute—

“(f) the registered medical practitioner reasonably believes that—

(i) there is an attending practitioner in relation to the deceased person; but

(ii) an attending practitioner is not available within a reasonable time of the person's death to prepare and sign an attending practitioner’s certificate;”;

(b) in paragraph (2), in the list of definitions—

(i) omit the definition of “attending medical practitioner”;

(ii) at the appropriate place insert—

““attending practitioner’s certificate” has the meaning given in regulation 2(1) of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024;”;

(iii) omit the definition of “certificate of the cause of death”.

(5) In regulation 4 (notifying the relevant senior coroner), for paragraph (3)(h) substitute—

“(h) if the registered medical practitioner is not an attending practitioner in relation to the deceased person, the name of any registered medical practitioner who is.”.

Transitional provision

5.—(1) Except where paragraph (2) applies, the amendments made by regulations 2 and 4 do not apply in relation to a death which occurs before the coming into force of these Regulations.

(2) This paragraph applies where, before the coming into force of these Regulations—

(a) the death has not been registered under Part 2 of the 1953 Act,

(b) a registered medical practitioner has not signed a certificate in the prescribed form in accordance with section 22(1) of the 1953 Act (registration of cause of death on receipt of medical certificate) in relation to the death, and

(c) a senior coroner is not under a duty to hold an inquest into the death under section 6 of the 1953 Act.

(3) In this regulation, “the 1953 Act” means the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953(22).

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State

Mike Freer

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Ministry of Justice

20th May 2024

I agree

Sue Carr

Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales

20th May 2024

Schedules

Regulation 2(16)(a)

Schedule 1 Form Cremation 1 (application for cremation of the body of person who has died)

Regulation 2(16)(c)

Schedule 2 Form Cremation 6 (certificate of coroner)

Regulation 2(16)(d)

Schedule 3 Form Cremation 10 (authorisation of cremation of deceased person by medical referee)

Regulation 3(a)

Schedule 4 Form 2 (notice of discontinuance)

Regulation 3(b)

Schedule 5 Form 3 (coroner’s order for burial)

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/2841), the Coroners (Investigation) Regulations 2013 (S.I. 2013/1629) and the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1112).

The amendments made by these Regulations reflect a cross-government programme of death certification reform. As part of this reform, the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/492) will require all deaths in England and Wales to be independently reviewed, either by the scrutiny of a medical examiner or by investigation by a coroner.

Regulation 2 amends the Cremation (England and Wales) Regulations 2008. Following the implementation of the new statutory medical examiner system in England and Wales, the requirement for a registered medical practitioner to complete a medical certificate where there is no coroner’s certificate or certificate of anatomical examination is removed for the purposes of a medical referee authorising a cremation. Regulation 2 also removes the requirement for the medical referee to be satisfied as to the cause of death, including where a coroner’s certificate or certificate of anatomical examination has been provided.

Regulation 2 further omits forms Cremation 4 (medical certificate) and Cremation 11 (certificate after post-mortem examination) and replaces form Cremation 1 (application for cremation of the body of a person who had died), form Cremation 6 (certificate of coroner) and form Cremation 10 (authorisation of cremation of deceased person by medical referee). It also makes a number of additional consequential amendments, clarifies existing provision and removes now redundant transitional provisions.

The amendments relating to the medical certificate and the role of the medical referee do not have effect in relation to deaths occurring in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands by virtue of inserted regulation 2A.

Regulation 3 amends the Coroners (Investigation) Regulations 2013 to replace Form 2 (notice of discontinuance) and Form 3 (coroner’s order for burial).

Regulation 4 amends the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019, which impose a duty on registered medical practitioners to notify a senior coroner of a person's death under certain circumstances. It amends the circumstances in which the duty arises, as well as the contents of the notification, to reflect the wider changes to the death certification system.

Regulation 5 makes transitional provision in respect of the changes made by regulations 2 and 4.

A full impact assessment of the effect that the introduction of the new medical examiner system in England and Wales will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/715242/death-certification-reform-impact-assessment.pdf. A separate impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument because no, or no significant, additional impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

(1)

1902 c. 8. Section 7 was amended by Part 5 of Schedule 11 to the Finance Act 1949 (c. 47) and by section 2 of the Cremation Act 1952 (c. 31). Other amendments have been made to section 7, but none is relevant. By virtue of section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926 (c. 48), the power to make regulations under section 7 of the Cremation Act 1902 includes a power to make regulations for the purpose of applying the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1926 to cases where human remains are disposed of by cremation.

(2)

2009 c. 25.

(3)

Section 18(2) was amended by S.I. 2018/378.

(4)

S.I. 2008/2841. Relevant amending instruments are referenced below.

(5)

The definition of “medical certificate” was substituted by S.I. 2022/218.

(6)

Regulation 12 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(7)

Regulation 14 was amended by S.I. 2017/1238 and 2022/218.

(8)

Regulation 16 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(9)

The definition of “registered medical practitioner” in Schedule 1 to the Interpretation Act 1978 (c.30) was substituted by S.I. 2002/3135.

(10)

Regulation 17 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(11)

For the meaning of “the 2009 Act”, see regulation 2(1) of S.I. 2008/2841.The definition of “the 2009 Act” was inserted into S.I. 2008/2841 by S.I. 2013/1869 (C. 80).

(12)

Regulation 22 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(13)

Regulation 23 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(14)

Regulation 24 was amended by S.I. 2022/218.

(15)

Regulation 37 was amended by S.I. 2017/1238.

(16)

Form Cremation 1 was substituted by S.I. 2017/1238.

(17)

Form Cremation 6 was substituted by S.I. 2022/611.

(18)

S.I. 2013/1629. There are amendments to S.I. 2013/1629, but none is relevant.

(19)

S.I. 2019/1112.

(20)

For the meaning of “coroner area”, see section 48(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

(21)

S.I. 2024/492.

(22)

1953 c. 20.