Content

As part of the
statutory obligations Cumberland Council, as ‘relevant
authority’ for coroner’s services in Cumbria, and under
the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the local authority must provide
the necessary resources, contracts, and funding to enable HM
Coroner to fulfil their statutory duties and responsibilities.
Permission is
therefore being sought to undertake a formal tender process, and to
subsequently appoint contractor(s), to undertake the
‘Removal of Bodies on behalf of HM Coroner’.
Permission is also being sought to give delegated authority to the
Director of Resources to authorise the award of the contract.
The contracts involve two areas of work, and
having:
 
- appropriate, robust, and timely arrangements
for the removal of a deceased person on behalf of HM Coroner and
transporting the body / body parts from place (potentially any
location within Cumbria) to a place as specified by HM Coroner. The
deceased are transferred to a designated mortuary(ies) in Cumbria, or any other locations as
specified by HM Coroner, to ensure the timely provision of
post-mortem examinations or any other necessary procedures, and to
ensure their statutory and legal obligations can be met.
 

- appropriate, robust, and timely arrangements for the
transportation and transfer of the deceased between mortuaries
located at hospitals either within Cumbria or out of county, or
between any other location as specified by HM Coroner to ensure the
timely provision of post-mortem examinations or any other necessary
procedures to ensure their statutory and legal obligations can be
met. 1.4 The current contracts in place within Cumbria end on 31st
March 2024, therefore as part of Cumberland Council’s
responsibilities as ‘relevant authority’, we are
required to ensure suitable arrangements are in place from 1st
April 2024.

Therefore, the decision requested is for the permission to retender
and subsequently award contracts for this service to have
appropriate and robust arrangement in place from 1st April
2024.

The contracts being sought would be for a three-year term, with the
option to extend by a further two years, and then a further one
year, if appropriate, giving a potential maximum term of six
years.
As the
work is demand led and the workload variable, the potential costs
are unknown. However, based on previous historic information
(2022/23) the anticipated total value if the total six-year term
was enacted and workload mirrored 2022/23 would be
£2.197m.

 
 

Reasons for the decision

Cumberland Council, as designated ‘relevant
authority’ for the Coroners Service in Cumbria has the
statutory obligation to support the work of HM Coroner(s) within
their specific area(s) (or jurisdiction) and fund any necessary and
appropriate services or costs incurred to enable HM Coroner to
fulfil their legal and statutory obligations and responsibilities
(Coroners Act 1988 and Coroners & Justice Act 2009).
It is
therefore the local authority responsibility to have in place
suitable and robust arrangements, and contracts in place, for the
Removal of Bodies and transportation of the Deceased.
The current contracts expire on
31st March 2024, therefore new contracts need to go via a tender
process, so provisions are in place by that date.
 
 

Alternative options considered

Doing
nothing
 
This is not an option, as
suitable and robust contracts that meet the needs of HM Coroner
must be in place to avoid any breach of statutory duty by the local
authority in their capacity as ‘relevant
authority’.
 
Single
countywide contract
 
Considered, but when this model
was used it proved problematic, and resulted in reputational damage
with complaints from families, HM Coroner, mortuaries, and the
police. Therefore, the option of using a single contractor was
dismissed.
 
Frameworks
 
No frameworks available to cover
this area and this type of work.