Agenda item

To consider a report seeking agreement to the proposed merger of the coronial areas of North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Cabinet received a report which sought approval to the proposed merger of the Coronial areas of Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside.

In September 2019 following the retirement of the Senior Coroner for South East Northumberland and North Tyneside, Mrs Karen Dilks was appointed as the Acting Senior Coroner for North Tyneside with effect from 1 October 2019. That appointment was made in the knowledge that the Ministry of Justice had indicated that the merger of the North Tyneside Coronial area with the Newcastle upon Tyne Coronial area was appropriate and in line with that department and the Chief Coroner’s intention to reduce the overall number of Coronial areas through mergers.

The appointment of Mrs Dilks as Senior Coroner was therefore seen as an interim arrangement until such time as the North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne Coronial areas were merged. It was envisaged at that time that Mrs Dilks would be appointed as Senior Coroner for the newly merged coronial area of Newcastle Upon Tyne and North Tyneside.  Against that backdrop, Cabinet agreed in principle to the merger of the Newcastle Upon Tyne and North Tyneside Coronial areas, subject to the development of an agreed Business Case. The Business Case had now been jointly developed by officers of the Authority and Newcastle City Council and was appended to the report for Cabinet’s endorsement and submission to the Ministry of Justice.

Mrs Dilks had given notice of her intention to retire as Senior Coroner in early 2023. Given the proposed merger of the two Coronial areas, the Authority had undertaken a joint recruitment exercise with Newcastle City Council to appoint a Senior Coroner for both jurisdictions.  After due deliberation, the interview panel, which consisted of Senior Officers from both Authorities, decided to offer the post of Senior Coroner for North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne to Ms Georgina Nolan as the highest-scoring candidate.  Ms Nolan was currently an Assistant Coroner for both the North Tyneside and Newcastle Upon Tyne jurisdictions, as well as the North and South Northumberland jurisdictions. The appointment of Ms Nolan as the Senior Coroner for both Coronial areas was subject to approval by the Chief Coroner and the Lord Chancellor.  Both had approved the appointment of Ms Nolan for each Coronial area.

Newcastle City Council at its full Council meeting on 2 November 2022 appointed Ms Nolan as its Senior Coroner.  Full Council made a similar appointment for North Tyneside at its meeting on 24 November 2022.

If the Ministry of Justice agreed to the merger of the North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne Coronial areas, then subject to the making of the appropriate Order by the Lord Chancellor, Ms Georgina Nolan would become the Senior Coroner for the newly merged Coronial area of Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside.

The interim arrangements had worked extremely well including during the Covid-19 pandemic. The re-location of the North Tyneside Coroner’s service to Newcastle Civic Centre, the funding of staff and the cost-sharing model agreed between the Authority and Newcastle City Council had resulted in an extremely efficient Coroner’s service.  These arrangements had been included in the Business Case, the terms of which were now before Cabinet for endorsement. 

The interim arrangements had now been in place for three years. The Business Case, which Cabinet was being invited to endorse, reflected the current arrangements and if the merger of the Coronial areas was agreed by the Ministry of Justice it would in real terms make very little, if any, noticeable difference to the way in which the Coroner’s service had operated in both North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne for that period of time.

Cabinet considered the following decision options: to approve the recommendations set out in paragraph 1.2 of the report; or alternatively, to not accept the recommendations.

Resolved that (1) the merger of the Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside Coronial areas and the Business Case for the merger appended to the report be endorsed for submission to the Chief Coroner and Ministry of Justice, be approved;

(2) the name for the new service be the ‘Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside Coroners Service’, be agreed;

(3) the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, be authorised to take all necessary steps to progress the Business Case including (but not limited to) making amendments or adjustments to the Business Case, and the Chief Executive to submit the Business Case to the Chief Coroner and the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the Authority; and

(4) the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Elected Mayor, be authorised to take any further steps necessary to facilitate the merger of the Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside Coronial areas on behalf of the Authority.

(Reason for decision: Since Cabinet agreed in principle in September 2019 to the merger of the Coronial areas of North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne the interim arrangements that have been in pace for three years. In that time service provided by the Interim Senior Coroner and her staff has been extremely efficient and is evidence that the proposed merger, which will in effect maintain the status quo, is reflected in the Business Case.)