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Written question asked by Daniel Byles (Conservative) on Monday, 30 June 2014, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 July 2014. It was answered by Simon Hughes (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 7 July 2014 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Roads: Accidents

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many coroners’ inquests have been held into the death of a child below the age of four as a result of being a passenger in a road traffic accident in each of the last five years; in how many of those cases the inquest found that a faulty child’s car seat was a contributory factor; and in how many of those cases the inquest found that an incorrectly fitted child’s car seat was a contributory factor.

Answer

The Ministry of Justice collects data from coroners for the annual Coroners Statistics bulletin, which is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coroners-statistics-2013

The statistical information is collected in summary form, which does not include data at the level of detail requested.

Coroners are independent judicial office holders, appointed by a local authority within the coroner area, and are not employed by the Ministry of Justice.

To provide the information requested would require the Ministry of Justice to ask coroners in England and Wales to examine their records for over 5,000 inquests to extract the information and provide a summary report to the centre. As such, this information is available only at disproportionate cost.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
203091; 584 cc84-6W
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Children Death Accidents Motor vehicles Roads
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk