Inquests held since 2019 (FOI)

​​​Request

A

How many inquests were carried out by the coroner's office in each of the last five years? 

B

How much money was spent in carrying out these inquests? Including staffing costs and so on.

Response

A

Please find below the details requested and the link to the website area where the full reports can be reviewed. 

All reports are publicly available on the court’s website. Please see the following link:

Viscount's Reports and Documents (courts.je)​

B

The Viscount Department receives funding from the Government to cover all operational expenses, including staff salaries, equipment, premises, and other overhead costs. The funding is used to support the provision of the various public services that the Viscount is responsible for delivering on behalf of the Court, Inquests being one these services. Inquest costs are not calculated on a case-by-case basis and whilst expenses may vary depending on the number and complexity of cases addressed, overall funding for the department does not change with each individual case. The fixed budget allows for consistent operations, regardless of fluctuations in case volumes and effective resource allocation: expenses, such as salaries, equipment, and facilities, are ongoing costs and do not vary with each individual case. The department funding model supports the coroner’s public safety role, investigating deaths to determine causes and circumstances whilst maintaining public accountability and focus on providing unbiased and through investigations rather than the financial implications of each case. The Viscount’s Department costs are contained in the Court Services Business Plans which can be accessed through the courts.je website: 

Viscount's Reports and Documents (courts.je)​