Senior politicians have publicly admitted that the Isle of Wight’s coroner’s service is ‘not fit for purpose’, as bereaved families continue to endure the longest wait for inquests anywhere in the country.
The damning remarks were made during the recent State of the Island Debate, jointly hosted by Island Echo and IW Observer, when the panel was asked whether the coroner’s service is fit for purpose.
The issues surrounding the service were raised in light of the well-documented agony of grieving families, some of whom are waiting years for inquest conclusions after the loss of a loved one, as previously reported by Island Echo.
Joe Robertson MP (Isle of Wight East) acknowledged the Island has the worst backlog in England and Wales and said that he recently met with Senior Coroner for the Isle of Wight, Caroline Sumeray and Isle of Wight Council Chief Executive Wendy Perera at the newly established courtroom at Seaclose Park.
However, while discussions were cordial, Joe said he was left concerned by the lack of a clear strategy to tackle the growing crisis. He told the Debate that he didn’t go away thinking that there was necessarily a big plan that was being put into practice.
Mr Robertson was also critical of how the Coroner responded to him publishing a photograph of an empty courtroom, stating that she should be more concerned about addressing the inquest backlog.
Richard Quigley MP (Isle of Wight West) echoed this sentiment, revealing that a Government minister had directly acknowledged the Island’s service as one of the worst in the country. He said a plan is now being developed to make improvements.
Leader of the Isle of Wight Council Phil Jordan went one step further, stating plainly that the coroner’s service is not meeting expectations.
Cllr Jordan said:
“It just isn’t fit for purpose”.
Although the Coroner is a judicial officer and not under direct council control, the Isle of Wight Council remains responsible for funding and resourcing the service. Efforts are said to be underway to review staffing structures and explore the appointment of an Assistant Coroner to help reduce delays, although that has been said for the past 3 years at least.
In 2024, only 38 of 123 inquests opened on the Isle of Wight were concluded, and the average wait time for grieving families has more than doubled since 2019 to a staggering 76 weeks.
Despite recent investments in facilities, including the dedicated courtroom at Seaclose Park, questions persist about the leadership and operational effectiveness of the service under Caroline Sumeray, with families still left waiting years for answers about their loved ones.
Coroner Caroline Sumeray joined the Isle of Wight service in July 2012, moving on from being the Assistant Deputy Coroner for the Outer London North, Inner London North and Cheshire jurisdictions.
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight Council has said:
“The council and HM Senior Coroner acknowledge that the coroners service on the Isle of Wight is currently struggling. The timeliness of the service delivered to Island residents falls short of what we both seek to provide.
“Working together with HM Senior Coroner, steps are being taken to drive forward improved performance and increase capacity in the service to address the length of time it takes to conclude inquests.
“We, together with HM Senior Coroner, are committed to supporting the service to ensure the best possible support for Island families.”
From what I have seen on the island, is anything
fit for purpose!
No one seems to know what they are doing.
Roll on devolution.
Move then
Don’t think I am not thinking it.
I won’t miss Numpty’s like yourself.
Your only word. Don’t they teach grammar oop north?
The biggest problem with the Island is the people who constantly want to run it down. If you don’t like it, there is a whole country full of other places to live
Then he’d have to start all over again
You need to get out more, living in a
Goldfish bowl makes you unaware
of what goes on in the country.
Your responses are getting dumber and dumber. No surprise there though
True, but things could be run much better.
So we council tax payers fund the coroner’s salary but the council can’t fire her? I think this is on the MPs to persuade the government to send her packing.
She just isn’t up to the job, and the furore over the photo of the coroner’s court shows she’s not focused on the job
The council didn’t have to pay out to refurbish Seaclose to give her a nice set of rooms, she could have used the council chamber, but it was too common for her, she had a hissy fit & started a go-slow.
She’s an absolute disgrace they also cover up things for the NHS also so you can’t not have faith in the diagnosis they give out as they are completely wrong and contradict the Hosbital!!!!!
At least The Three Musketeers are now on the case
Joe, Phil & Dick
“All for one and one for all”
Lol
The whole council are not fit for purpose.
Devolution will solve that problem
Absolute rubbish, being run from the mainland can never work.
The mainland have speed Camera’s and stricter rules
than the island.
I know this might sound extreme or even provocative, but…
The IoW Council are always saying that they have to cut funding fir this, that and the other ‘service’ whilst still increasing Council Tax to the maximum..(they can still manage to find monies for vanity projects though)…
The Leader of the Council says that the Coroner’s service is not fit for purpose so…
Ignore the ‘statute’ requirement to fund a service which they are not responsible for and immediately cease the funding.
When the ‘powers that be’ threaten action, let THEM sort out the useless woman and her department!
@Nick Black , I agree with you.
The problem we have is that the majority of
Government run organisations are useless.
They are wasting our tax payers money employing
useless employees.
Many civil servants are still only going into the office
1 or 2 days a week.
Sick pay in all Government organisations is unlimited
“No one is accountable”
I reckon there are so many people on the payroll
who bosses don’t even know work for them.
The private sector is so different to the public sector.
Private sector employees have to work for their money.
I’ve been waiting 20 months for my sons inquest , as if losing him wasn’t bad enough we still don’t have closure
❤️❤️
I am sorry to hear that.
So many Government organisations are still
working from home, hence delays.
I know many Civil servants on the mainland
who go into the office 1 or 2 days a week max.
They are on full pay too.
I hope you get closure asap.
Surely some one will be sacked until that happens nothing will change
They couldn’t sack a bag of spuds, yet alone an
employee.
If HM Senior Coroner is the island Coroners professional manager , surely they must take some responsibility to see that the service is managed properly.
Else the not fit for purpose service could potentially be shared with the mainland instead. Other services ie in NHS and IW Council are managed this way
From this report I conclude that the onus is on the IWC to do something about resourcing – an issue which they have sat on for the last 3 years.
Another case of Cllr Jordan and his bunch of acolytes not getting on with the job.
Like everything on the Island now.
And yes if I was in a position to move off here I WOULD.
Me too. It is not the place it use to be.
Bye!