The Buckinghamshire (Coroners) Order 1997

Statutory Instruments

1997 No. 495

LOCAL GOVERNMENT, ENLAND AND WALES

CORONERS

The Buckinghamshire (Coroners) Order 1997

Made

21st February 1997

Laid before Parliament

5th March 1997

Coming into force

1st April 1997

The Secretary of State in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 17 and 26 of the Local Government Act 1992(1) hereby makes the following Order:

1.  This Order may be cited as the Buckinghamshire (Coroners) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st April 1997.

2.  The North Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District and the South Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District shall be abolished.

3.—(1) On 1st April 1997, any process issued, order made, direction given, inquest begun or other thing done by or to the coroner for the existing North Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District or the coroner for the existing South Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District shall be deemed to have been issued, made, given, begun or done by or to the coroner for the County of Buckinghamshire.

(2) All documents, exhibits, registers and other things in the custody of the coroner for the existing North Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District or the coroner for the existing South Buckinghamshire Coroner’s District in connection with inquests or post-mortem investigations shall be transferred to the coroner for the County of Buckinghamshire.

(3) In this article “coroner” includes any deputy coroner or assistant deputy coroner.

Tom Sackville

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Home Office

21st February 1997

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order makes provision about coroners in consequence of the provisions of the Buckinghamshire (Borough of Milton Keynes) (Structural Change) Order 1995 (S.I. 1995/1769) which come into force on 1st April 1997. The effect of those provisions is described below.

Article 8 of that Order creates a new County of Milton Keynes which ceases to be part of the County of Buckinghamshire or to be subject to orders under section 4(2) of the Coroners Act 1988 made by Buckinghamshire County Council. By virtue of article 3 of that Order, the Council of the Borough of Milton Keynes assumes the functions of a County Council. As the relevant council within the meaning of section 1 of the Coroners Act 1988, as substituted by S.I. 1996/655, that council is responsible for the appointment of coroners for that area and has other functions in connection with coroners under that Act.

Article 2 of this Order abolishes the two coroner’s districts of South Buckinghamshire and North Buckinghamshire. There will instead be a single coroner for the County of Buckinghamshire.

Article 3 makes transitional arrangements to ensure continuity as respects the coroner for the County of Buckinghamshire.

(1)

1992 c. 19.