Mergers of Coroner Areas
There are currently 83 coroner areas in England and Wales.
The Chief Coroner and the Ministry of Justice have a joint long-term plan to reduce this to around 75.
Area mergers are always considered whenever the opportunity arises, invariably when a senior coroner retires.
Merging two or more areas leads to a more consistent and standardised service for bereaved families, and results in more coroner areas being of the same size and population.
All mergers that have taken place have been achieved through consensus and agreement.
1 April 2022 – North Yorkshire and York
1 April 2020 – Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton
1 August 2018 – Teesside and Hartlepool
1 December 2017 – Lancashire and Blackpool with Darwen
1 August 2017 – Lincolnshire
1 April 2016 – Cornwall
1 April 2016 – Somerset
1April 2016 – South Wales Central
1 August 2015 – Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
2 April 2015 – Liverpool and Wirral
1 January 2015 – Cumbria