24Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons

24 Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons

24 Jurisdiction concerning deaths of children and disabled persons

(cf Coroners Act 1980, s 13AB(1), (3) and (4))

(1) A senior coroner has jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death or suspected death of a person if it appears to the coroner that the person was (or that there is reasonable cause to suspect that the person was)—

(a) a child in care, or

(b) a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or

(c) a child who is a sibling of a child in respect of whom a report was made under Part 2 of Chapter 3 of the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 within the period of 3 years immediately preceding the child’s death, or

(d) a child whose death is or may be due to abuse or neglect or that occurs in suspicious circumstances, or

(e) a person (whether or not a child) who, at the time of the person’s death, was living in, or was temporarily absent from, specialist disability accommodation or an assisted boarding house, or

(f) a person, other than a child in care, who—

(i) is a person in the relevant group, and

(ii) receives assistance of a kind prescribed by the regulations from a service provider to enable the person to live independently in the community.

(2) If jurisdiction to hold an inquest concerning the death of a child arises under this section or section 23, the senior coroner must use his or her best endeavours to notify the following persons of any right that they have to legal representation at the inquest—

(a) the persons having parental responsibility for the child,

(b) the child’s parents (if they do not have that responsibility),

(c) such family members as would be reasonably expected to have an immediate interest in the outcome of the inquest.