Suicide: Children
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration his Department has given to the potential merits of allowing inquests into the death of a child by suicide to be conducted in private.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones
As I confirmed in my response the Honourable Member’s question on this issue on 23 July 2025 (Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament), the Government is committed to putting the bereaved at the heart of the inquest process, and we are particularly conscious of the importance of this for those who have suffered the unimaginable distress of losing a child through suicide.
However, in line with the principle of open justice - which applies in all courts including the coroner’s court - it is important that justice is administered in public, that everything said in court is reportable, and that any departure from this approach is closely regulated.
Accordingly, there are strict limitations on the coroner’s powers to sit in private, to withhold the names of witnesses or Interested Persons, or to prevent the reporting of matters heard in court. In particular, the public and media may only be excluded from an inquest hearing in the interests of national security.
Chapter 8 of the Chief Coroner’s Guidance for Coroners on the Bench (Chapter 8: Open Justice - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary) provides guidance for coroners on the principle of open justice and the application of any statutory powers to depart from it.
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