The coroners’ offices in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough could be merged into one office as part of cost cutting reforms.
The proposal, which is recommended for approval by Cambridgeshire County Council’s Highways and Community Infrastructure, would see a full time coroner given responsibility for recording all the deaths in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
In a move which would save the council more than £120,000 a year, the chief coroner would replace the two part-time senior coroners for North East Cambridgeshire and South West Cambridgeshire, who both intend to retire next April.
The report said: “The combined total of deaths reported to coroners across the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough jurisdictions averages 3,500 per annum, making this an appropriate workload for a single full time coroner.”
Running two coroner offices in Cambridgeshire cost more than £900,000 last year, prompting a scrutiny committee review of the service.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here