OpenLegislation

Explanatory note

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations confer on the National Medical Examiner appointed by the Secretary of State under section 21(1) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (c. 25) (“the Act”) functions additional to the function of issuing guidance to medical examiners conferred on the National Medical Examiner by section 21(2)(a) of the Act.

The additional functions conferred are—

  • providing advice to the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers in relation to the exercise of functions by attending practitioners and medical examiners (regulation 4);

  • providing advice to the Chief Coroner in relation to causes of death (regulation 5);

  • issuing guidance to English NHS bodies and Welsh NHS bodies in relation to the qualification requirements of medical examiners and persons acting on behalf of medical examiners, the respective functions of medical examiners and those acting on their behalf, and the appropriate training to be undertaken by medical examiners (regulation 6);

  • preparing and publishing standards of performance in relation to the exercise of medical examiners’ functions conferred on them by or under the Act and keeping those standards under review (regulation 7); and

  • providing reports and information to the Secretary of State and the Welsh Ministers about the exercise of functions by the National Medical Examiner, medical examiners and attending practitioners (regulation 8).

Full impact assessments of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector were prepared in 2018 and 2022 and available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/death-certification-reforms and https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-and-care-act-2022-combined-impact-assessments. An updated summary document has also been prepared and is available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-death-certification-process. Hard copies can be obtained by writing to the Department of Health and Social Care, 39 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0EU.