Agenda item

The Executive Director: Resources, Lincolnshire County Council submitted a report providing the background and supporting information to enable a recommendation on whether to support the submission of an agreed joint business case from Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council to the Her Majesty’s Chief Coroner. The business case proposed the merger of the two existing coronial areas to create a single area, to be named Greater Lincolnshire which would be coterminous with the three authorities. The business case proposed a model on how the service would be structured, financed and governed by the three authorities.

The Executive Director: Resources in his report explained that there were currently 88 coroner areas in England and Wales. The Chief Coroner and the Ministry of Justice have had a joint long-term plan to reduce this to around 75. On the retirement of the Senior Coroner for Grimsby and North Lincolnshire in December 2018, North and North East Lincolnshire Councils were informed their area was too small to be maintained as a separate area and they should seek to merge with another area. Discussions have been on-going since this date, delays have occurred due to the Coronavirus pandemic. An alternative business case was submitted to the Chief Coroner by Hull and East Riding to create a Humberside Coroners Area in 2019.

The Chief Coroner has been informed of the collaborative approach to developing a Greater Lincolnshire option and therefore had currently stayed the decision process, prior to receiving the proposal attached, in summer 2021. Mergers were made by Statutory Instrument; the process was outlined in appendix 1 of the report.

The Greater Lincolnshire proposal had been developed with these under pinning principles –

(i)                 No increase in cost to any of the three authorities.

(ii)                Phased approach to cost sharing to ensure (i)

(iii)              Staff and service delivery (inquests) retained in current localities to ensure   communities are served appropriately.

(iv)              Shared governance through committee and operational board. Including decisions on moving to next phase, and

(v)               Adoption of relevant IT and technological solutions to improve service to the public and drive efficiencies.

The report stated that a business case proforma has been provided by the Ministry of Justice which was currently a working document. Key areas were outlined in the report under the headings – ‘Operational Structure and Governance’ which proposed as option C that Lincolnshire County Council becomes the lead authority with North East Lincolnshire Council staff transferred across to Lincolnshire CC and a phased approach to cost sharing be adopted, especially around contracts. The revised service would adopt a single operating process supported by a single software program. Governance of the merger would sit with the Joint Committee with a possible operational board with officers from all three authorities reporting to it, and ‘Finance’ which gave a detailed breakdown of current and future financing phases and any associated future savings. Consultation on the agreed proposal would be carried out with key stakeholders.

Resolved – (a) That Option C identified above and as described in the Executive Director’s report be recommended as the preferred model for a merged coronial service for Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council and North East Lincolnshire Council; (b) that it be recommended to member councils to submit jointly the merger business case to Her Majesty’s Chief Coroner for England and Wales on basis described in the report including the model and phasing of shared financial arrangements,(c) that it be recommended that the Joint Committee oversees the governance of this merger supported by an operational board, and (d) that member councils give consideration to options for future  ‘Employment Models’ to sustain and develop collaborative working of services and they be reported to a future meeting.