## Statistics On Deaths Reported To Coroners England And Wales, 2007 Ministry Of Justice Statistics Bulletin - Re-Issued

 
Originally published 8 May 2008 Re-issued 8 August 2008 

## Statistics On Deaths Reported To Coroners England And Wales, 2007

 Ministry of Justice Statistics bulletin - re-issued 
Also available on the Ministry of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/coronersannual.htm 

## Executive Summary

This bulletin presents statistics of coroners' work during the calendar year 2007, including deaths reported, post-mortems, and inquests (including those for treasure and treasure trove).  These figures are used to monitor coroners' workload, throughput of cases, and percentages of post-mortems and inquests. 

## Main Points

- Some 234,500 deaths were reported to coroners in 2007, a rise of 4,500 (2 
per cent) from the 2006 figure. *(Tables 1 and 3)* 
- The proportion of all registered deaths reported to coroners rose from 45.8 
per cent in 2006 to an estimated 46.5 per cent in 2007, in line with the prevailing trend.  *(Table 3)* 
- The percentage of cases involving post-mortem examinations, as a 
proportion of all deaths reported to coroners, fell from 48 per cent in 2006 to 
47 per cent in 2007, continuing the existing downward trend.  *(Table 4)* 
- Inquests were held on 30,800 deaths, representing just over 13 per cent of 
all deaths reported to coroners, continuing a slight upward trend.  *(Table 4)* 
- As in recent years, the most common verdicts returned at inquests were 
death by accident or misadventure (in 33 per cent of cases), deaths from natural causes (26 per cent) and suicide (11 per cent).  *(Tables 2 and 5)* 
- Verdicts of suicide in 2007 fell by 7 per cent compared to the previous year; 
there were also falls in the number of verdicts of death by accident or misadventure, open verdicts, and verdicts of death from industrial diseases. Verdicts of natural causes rose, and there was a large rise in the number of non-specific verdicts, a category which includes narrative verdicts which are 
a factual record of how and in what circumstances the death occurred, often 
used where the cause of death does not easily fit any of the short-form categories. *(Table 5)* 

## Introduction And Important Note On Counting Methodology

This bulletin presents statistics of deaths reported to coroners in England and Wales in 2007 in accordance with section 28 of the Coroners Act 1988.  
Information is provided on deaths reported to coroners, post-mortem examinations and inquests held, and verdicts returned at inquests. Since 1995, coroners have been asked to report on those deaths notified to them which resulted in no further action being taken by them (known as "NFA cases"), that is, there was no inquest, no post-mortem, and no certificate was issued by them for registration purposes. 

Prior to 1995, however, NFA cases were not reported in the annual statistics.  It should be noted therefore that in Tables 3 and 4, which show figures over a number of years, figures for the total number of deaths reported to coroners since 1995 are not directly comparable to those for earlier years, as they have been counted on a different basis. Because of differences between coroners as to how these NFA cases were reported in their figures, since 2005 all coroners have been asked to include these cases within the figures for all deaths reported that required neither an inquest nor a post-mortem, with separate figures for NFA cases only if the sex of the deceased was not known.  A consistent time series for deaths reported excluding NFA cases is therefore not available. This is a re-issued version of the statistical bulletin which was originally published in May 2008.  In the original version, full data for 2007 were not available for the East Sussex and Plymouth and South West Devon districts. Data were imputed for each of these jurisdictions based on figures reported in previous years.  Actual data for 2007 have now been received for these two districts and their figures updated accordingly.  Please see the Explanatory Notes section for a summary of their effect on the England and Wales totals, which have also been updated as a result. This re-issued bulletin also includes a corrected figure for the number of registered deaths in England and Wales in 2007, which was published by the Office for National Statistics in July 2008.  This was not available when the bulletin was originally published, and so an estimated figure was used. 

## Deaths Reported (Tables 1, 3 And 4, Figures 1 And 2)

The number of deaths reported to coroners in 2007 rose by 4,500 (2 per cent) from the previous year, from 230,000 in 2006 to 234,500 during 2007, the highest annual total to date.  The proportion of registered deaths in the calendar year 2007 that were reported to coroners in 2007 rose by a little under one percentage point from 45.8 per cent to 46.5 per cent, continuing a long-term trend.  This proportion is also the highest figure recorded to date. 

GraphGraph GraphGraph The long-term trend, as well as that of the proportion of deaths reported, is upwards.  Since the Shipman murders, there has been more concern about proper process.  In the longer term, this rise is probably also due in part to the growing use, over at least the last twenty years, of deputising services by general practitioners, leading to greater referrals to coroners. 

## Post-Mortem Examinations And Inquests (Tables 1, 2, 3 And 4, Figures 3A And 3B)

Post-mortem examinations were ordered by coroners in 47 per cent of all cases reported to them in 2007.  This represented 110,400 post-mortems in total, 140 
more than in 2006.  The proportion of post-mortem cases fell by just under 1 percentage point from 2006, continuing the long-term downward trend, despite the slight rise in actual numbers of post-mortem examinations performed. 

## 

Inquests were held on 30,800 deaths reported to coroners in 2007, over 1,500 more than in 2006, and the highest number since at least 1980.  Inquest cases represented just over one in eight of all the deaths reported to coroners in 2007, a slight increase on the year before. 

## Post-Mortems In Inquest Cases (Table 4)

When an inquest is held a post-mortem examination has usually been conducted, and in 2007 post-mortems were conducted in 92 per cent of such cases.  This compares to 93 per cent in the previous year, and continues a shallow declining trend over the past eight or nine years.  Prior to the late 
1990s, the holding of an inquest without a post-mortem examination was comparatively rare, accounting for around 2 per cent or less of inquest cases every year.  In 2007 there were over 2,300 inquests without a post-mortem, over six times the number so reported ten years ago. 

## Post-Mortems In Non-Inquest Cases (Table 4)

In the majority of cases referred to coroners there is no inquest.  In 2007, there were just under 82,000 non-inquest cases requiring a post-mortem, and the percentage of non-inquest cases that required a post-mortem fell to 40 per cent. This proportion has fallen steadily in recent years; in 1995 the proportion was 56 per cent.  Figure 3a above refers to all cases, whether there was an inquest or not. 

## Cases Requiring Neither An Inquest Nor A Post-Mortem (Table 4)

There were also 121,800 cases reported to coroners where there was neither an inquest nor a post-mortem.  This particular category of case has been increasing in recent years.  Also, as a proportion of all coroners' cases, those where there was neither an inquest nor a post-mortem examination have increased from around 40 per cent or just above in the late 1990s, to 52 per cent in 2007. 

## Inquest Verdicts (Tables 2, 5 And 6, Figures 4, 5 And 6)

Verdicts were returned at over 27,300 inquests in 2007, 200 fewer than in 2006. As in previous years the most common verdicts in 2007 were: death by accident or misadventure (8,900, 33 per cent of all verdicts), deaths from natural causes 
(7,000, 26 per cent), and suicide (3,000, 11 per cent)1. 

The principal rises in 2007 were for verdicts of death from natural causes, up 
180 (3 per cent on the 2006 figure) to over 7,000; and non-specific verdicts, up 
520 (21 per cent) to over 2,900.  The last-mentioned rise is because of the increasing use of what are known as 'narrative verdicts' by some coroners (see the paragraph on trends, below).  A narrative verdict is where, instead of a conventional verdict, at the end of the inquest the coroner records a factual record of how and in what circumstances the death occurred.  Recent case law, including the House of Lords Middleton2 judgement, may be responsible for the increasing use of narrative verdicts. Verdicts of suicide fell by over 200 (7 per cent) from the 2006 level.  There were also falls in the number of verdicts of deaths by accident or misadventure in 2007 (down 420, but a relatively small percentage fall of only 5 per cent), and in the number of open verdicts (down 140, or 6 per cent).  Both of these categories have shown fluctuations year on year. 

## Trends (Table 5 And Figure 4)

Verdicts of death from natural causes are tending to rise.  There is a long-term downward trend in the numbers of verdicts of suicide, though there are fluctuations within that trend.  The numbers of open verdicts appear to fluctuate with no clearly definable upward or downward trend. However, as a *proportion* of verdicts delivered by coroners during a calendar year, there are four main trends, two rising and two falling: verdicts of accident 
                                           
 
 
or misadventure are declining steadily, from 48 per cent in 1993 to 33 per cent in 2007, and suicide verdicts are declining slowly over the same period, from nearly 20 per cent fifteen years ago to around 11 per cent last year.  The two rising trends are: firstly, verdicts of natural causes, which have risen from 11 per cent in 1993 to around 26 per cent in 2007; and secondly, non-specific verdicts 
(which include narrative verdicts, mentioned above), which formed fewer than one per cent of the total until 2001, but accounted for 11 per cent in 2007. Other types of verdict show no clear trend, or numbers are too small to identify a trend reliably. 

*Includes open verdicts, and non-specific verdicts, etc. (see Table 5) Graph
 

## Gender Differences (Table 2, Figures 5 And 6)

The pattern of verdicts differs between males and females.  Similar to previous years, male deaths accounted for about 69 per cent of all verdicts; but they also included 93 per cent of verdicts of death from industrial disease, 78 per cent of verdicts of suicide, and 86 per cent of verdicts of death from dependence on, or non-dependent abuse of, drugs.  For females, the most common verdict was death by accident or misadventure (38 per cent of all female verdicts) followed by death from natural causes (30 per cent).  These proportions were all similar to those in recent years. 


## Juries, And Adjourned Inquests (Table 6)

Nearly all inquests in 2007, as in other years, were held without juries.  The number of inquests held with juries in 2007 was 540 (representing just under 2 
per cent of all inquests), a modest fall of 30 from 2006, and the second lowest since these particular figures were first collected around thirty years ago.  Not only the numbers, but the proportions are also falling, from a peak of around 6 
per cent of inquests around twenty years ago. 

Around 930 inquests were adjourned by the coroner under Section 16 of the Coroners Act 1988 because criminal proceedings were pending and not resumed.  This is comparable with the level generally prevailing in recent years. 

## Treasure And Treasure Trove (Table 6 And Figure 7)

On 24 September 1997, the Treasure Act 1996 came into force and replaced the common law of Treasure Trove in England and Wales.  The 1996 Act introduced new requirements for reporting and dealing with finds.  Not all finds need be the subject of an inquest.  In 2007, 568 finds were reported and 273 
inquests were concluded, from which a verdict declaring a find to be Treasure was returned in 229 cases.  There were also 13 inquests held into Treasure Trove in 2007, relating to finds made before the current Act came into force.  It is likely that a few such inquests will continue to be held for some time. The number of finds reported has been steadily increasing in recent years; this is probably because of the increasing popularity of treasure-hunting as a hobby. The dip in reported finds in 2001 is almost certainly due to the foot-and-mouth outbreak, which severely restricted access to land during the spring of that year. 

## Deaths Reported To Coroners January To December 2007 Please Read The Notes Carefully Before Completing

SECTION A:   DEATHS REPORTED TO CORONER IN 2007 
 
With post mortem 
Without post mortem 
TOTAL 
 
Male 
Female 
Total 
Male 
Female 
Total 
Male 
Female 
Total 


(i)   Deaths reported to the coroner which, after investigation, resulted (or will result) in the issue of a certificate but no inquest 


(ii)  Deaths reported to coroners on which inquests are to 
be or were opened (even if not concluded) TOTAL   (i)+(ii)  

             (A) 
(iii) Number of cases transferred out of district under Section 14 of the Coroners Act 1988 (not to be included above) 
 
(iv) Deaths reported or referred to the coroner requiring neither inquest nor the issue of any certificate MUST BE INCLUDED IN THE "NO INQUEST NO POST MORTEM" box above, along 
with cases where certificates were issued.    For cases where sex of deceased not known, please append a note to the form indicating the number of such cases, or write in the margin. 
 
SECTION B:   VERDICTS RETURNED AT INQUESTS IN 2007 
                     (including inquests with juries) 
 
SECTION C:   INQUESTS ADJOURNED under Sections 16 and 17A of the 
          Coroners Act 1988 which it has been decided NOT TO RESUME DURING 2007 
 
 
Numbers of verdicts 
 
 
Subsection under which 
(not treasure inquests) 
adjournment occurs 
TOTAL 
 
Male 
Female 
TOTAL 
 
 
Section 
16(1)(a) 
Section 16(1)(b) 
Section 17A 
Killed unlawfully 


Murder 


Killed lawfully 


Manslaughter 


Suicide 


Infanticide 


Attempted or self-induced abortion 


Charges of causing death contrary to RTA 1988  


Cause of death aggravated by lack of care, or self-neglect 


Aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring suicide 
Dependence on drugs 


Other criminal charges 
 
 
(1)  
 
Non-dependant abuse of drugs 


Disaster inquiry 


Want of attention at birth 


TOTAL [All  charges] 


(C) 
Deaths from industrial diseases 


Deaths by accident or misadventure 


SECTION D:   INQUESTS, INQUISITIONS AND EXHUMATIONS IN 2007 
TOTAL 
Stillborn 


With juries 
Without juries 
Deaths from natural causes 


Number of inquests (not treasure) (= B+C ) 
Open verdicts 


of which:  Inquests held by order of the High Court Inquests quashed or amended by the High Court 
Disasters (where inquest resumed after 
adjournment under S.17A of Coroners Act 1988) 
 
 
(1) 
 
Number of inquests on treasure trove 
 
All other verdicts (including narrative 
verdicts )  (1) TOTAL [All verdicts] 
 
 
(B) 
 
CASES DEALT WITH UNDER THE TREASURE ACT 1996:  

     Number of cases reported 

     Number of inquests concluded 
 
(1) Please give details on a separate sheet of paper  
 
           of which:   Number of verdicts of treasure 


Number of exhumations ordered by the Coroner 

## Explanatory Notes

1. This is a National Statistics publication produced by the Ministry of 
Justice.  National Statistics are produced to high professional standards 
set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice.  They undergo regular 
quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs.  
They are produced free from any political interference. 
2. The data analysed in this publication are based on annual returns from 
H.M. Coroners.  Coroners are required under the provisions of Section 28 of the Coroners Act 1988 to furnish to the Secretary of State returns 
in relation to inquests held and deaths inquired into by him (or her) in 
such form and containing such particulars as the Secretary of State may 
direct.  Thanks are due to coroners and their staff for their work in 
preparing these returns. 

## Symbols And Conventions

The following symbols have been used throughout the tables in this bulletin: 
n/a    = Not applicable -   
= Nil 

| ..      | = Not available    |
|---------|--------------------|
| (R)     | = Revised data     |

## Definitions

The following brief definitions are intended as a guide to the meaning of terms in this bulletin concerning coroners and their work; more detailed definitions will be found in the Coroners Act 1988 and the Treasure Act 1996. 

## Coroner; Deaths Reported

In England and Wales, all violent and unnatural deaths, sudden deaths of unknown cause, and all deaths of persons in custody, are reported to coroners.  Coroners are appointed by local authorities; they must be barristers, solicitors or registered medical practitioners and must have at least five years' standing in the relevant profession.  The relevant legislation and guidance is contained within the Coroners Act 1988 and the Coroners Rules 1984 (as amended). 

## Non-Inquest Cases

The coroner's investigation is concluded most often without an inquest being held.  The coroner will have satisfied himself or herself, by means of a postmortem examination or other investigation, on the physical cause of death, and that the death was not one on which he or she is required by law to hold an inquest. 

## Post Mortem Examinations

A coroner may request that a post-mortem examination be conducted, whether or not an inquest is held, particularly if the cause of death is not clear.  In many cases a post-mortem examination is conducted in order to determine whether or not an inquest is necessary.  Other post-mortem examinations are held which are not ordered by the coroner.  Details of these are collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  See the further information section below for details of how to obtain statistics on this and other related topics. 

## Inquests

A coroner must hold an inquest if the body of a person ('the deceased') lies within his or her district* and if he or she has reasonable cause to suspect that the deceased: (a) died a violent or unnatural death; (b) died a sudden death the cause of which is unknown; or (c) died in prison or in such place or in such circumstances as to require an inquest under any other Act. 

[*The cause of death does not have to have arisen within the coroner's district.] 
The holding of an inquest requires the coroner to determine: (a) who the deceased was; (b) how, when and where the deceased came by his or her death, and any further particulars necessary to enable the death to be registered. 

Verdicts are returned in nearly all coroners' inquests.  The exceptions are those inquests adjourned by the coroner which he or she later decides not to resume, and are mainly inquests into deaths by unlawful killing and deaths by dangerous driving or careless driving when under the influence of alcohol or drugs, in which court proceedings have been instituted.  This avoids the need for two tribunals to consider the same evidence.  A 
"narrative verdict" is where the coroner makes a brief and factual statement at the conclusion of the inquest but does not return one of the suggested short-form verdicts. 

## Juries

Nearly all inquests are held by a coroner sitting alone, without a jury.  A jury must be summoned where the death occurred: (a) in prison, or in such a place or such circumstances as to require an inquest under another Act; (b) in police custody, or resulted from an injury caused by a police officer in the purported execution of his or her duty; (c) where there are certain statutory reporting obligations under the Health and Safety Act 1974 or any other Act, and in certain other circumstances, especially where there may be a continuing or recurring danger to the public. 

## Treasure And Treasure Trove

In addition to inquiring into certain deaths, coroners also have jurisdiction to inquire into any treasure which is found in their districts and to establish who were the finders.  With the commencement of the Treasure Act 1996 on 24 
September 1997 inquests into finds which previously might have been declared treasure trove are supplemented by those now conducted to determine whether finds made on or after that date are treasure. 

## Registered Deaths

All deaths in England and Wales must be registered with the Registrar of Births and Deaths.  The term 'registered deaths' in this bulletin refers to deaths registered within a specific time period (in this case, calendar years). Statistics on registered deaths in England and Wales are published by the ONS.  No figure was available for the number of registered deaths in 2007 at the time this bulletin was originally published.  Based on population projections published by the ONS in October 2007, an estimate of 498,900 was derived.  Figures published by the ONS in July 2008 gave an actual figure of 504,100 registered deaths in England and Wales in 2007.  As a result, the number of deaths reported to coroners in 2007 as a proportion of the total number of registered deaths has been revised from 47.0 per cent to 46.5 per cent. 

## Revised Data For 2007 In This Re-Issued Bulletin

At the time this bulletin was originally published, full data for 2007 were not available for the East Sussex and Plymouth and South West Devon districts.  Data were imputed for each of these jurisdictions based on figures reported in previous years. Actual data for 2007 have now been received for these two districts and are presented in the tables of this re-issued bulletin. The table below summarises the changes to some of the England and Wales totals as a result. 

## Revisions To Statistics For Previous Years

Several tables in this bulletin incorporate revisions to previous annual statistics.  These are described below. 

The number of deaths reported to the coroner in the Newcastle upon Tyne district in the years 2000 to 2003 inclusive have been revised.  Figures published in previous bulletins included between 1400 and 1800 'No Further 
 
Action' (NFA) cases per year.  These figures erroneously included a large number of non-NFA cases, and the number of NFA cases in each year should in fact have been about 250.  The table below summarises the effects of these revisions on the total number of deaths reported for the Newcastle upon Tyne district and for England and Wales as a whole. Figures for deaths reported where inquests were opened and post-mortem examinations were held are unaffected. The number of deaths reported to the coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside in 2006 has also been revised.  Some 406 NFA cases were missing from the total, which therefore under-recorded the total number of deaths reported.  The total number of deaths reported to the coroner in that year has been revised from 1,516 to 1,922.  The total number of deaths reported to all coroners in England and Wales in 2006 has been revised from 229,601 to 230,007 as a result.  Figures for deaths reported where inquests were opened and post-mortem examinations were held are unaffected. Previous figures showed that the number of Treasure Trove inquests (as distinct from Treasure Act 1996 inquests) was relatively small - at most a few dozen cases per year.  However, a review of data for recent years has found that in fact the figures have been over-reported.  Some inquests into treasure in recent years were mistakenly reported both as Treasure Act inquests and Treasure Trove inquests, when in fact they came purely under the auspices of the new Act.  The number of Treasure Trove inquests has therefore been revised downwards as a result.  Figures for finds and inquests under the Treasure Act 1996 are not affected.  Revisions have been made back to 1998. 

## Further Notes

Prior to 1 June 2005, policy responsibility for H.M. Coroners lay with the Home Office, but on that date it passed to the Department for Constitutional Affairs as part of machinery of government changes following the 2005 general election.  Responsibility now lies with the Ministry of Justice, which was created on 9 May 2007. Further information on deaths occurring annually in England and Wales is published by the Office for National Statistics in their Mortality Statistics 
 
series (DH1, DH2, etc.); these may be downloaded from their website at www.statistics.gov.uk. 

This bulletin was written and prepared by Richard Allen of the Economics and Statistics Division of the Ministry of Justice. 

Prior to the transfer of responsibility, the Home Office published statistical bulletins based on coroners' annual returns, since 1980.  The last four bulletins published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin series were as follows: for year 2003, bulletin 9/04; for 2002, bulletin 6/03; for 2001, bulletin 3/02; and for year 2000, bulletin 7/01.  These may be found at: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pubsstatistical.html. 

## Contact Points For Further Information

Current and previous editions of this publication are available for download at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/coronersannual.htm. 

Press enquiries should be directed to the Ministry of Justice press office: 
Press Office Ministry of Justice 9th Floor Selborne House 54-60 Victoria Street London SW1E 6QW Tel: 020 7210 8512 / 8513 
Email: press.office@justice.gsi.gov.uk 
 
Other enquiries about these statistics should be directed to: 
Richard Allen Ministry of Justice 
5th Floor Selborne House 54-60 Victoria Street London SW1E 6QW Tel: 020 7210 2621 
Email: richard.allen@justice.gsi.gov.uk General enquiries about the statistical work of the Ministry of Justice can be e-mailed to: esd@justice.gsi.gov.uk Other National Statistics publications, and general information about the official statistics system of the UK, are available from www.statistics.gov.uk. 

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