Liverpool and Wirral Coroner’s Service

Who is the data controller?

The Senior Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral is the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 other regulations including the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679), which means they determine what your data is used for and why it is collected. The purpose of this privacy notice is to tell you about what information is collected about you when you use our service, how that information is used and who it may be shared with.

The Senior Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral is supported by the Area Coroner and a number of Assistant Coroners.

The contact details of the data controller are:

HM Senior Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral
Gerard Majella Courthouse
Boundary Street
L5 2QD
Tel: 0151 233 5770

The personal information we hold and the legal basis for processing it

Where relevant, we will collect the following information:

  • Name
  • Date of Birth
  • Medical history from GP and hospitals
  • Cause of death
  • Family details
  • Lifestyle and social circumstances
  • Addictions
  • Financial details
  • Employment and education details
  • Occupation and place of work
  • Offences and alleged offences contained in police report
  • Physical or mental health details
  • Racial or ethnic origin
  • Religious or other beliefs
  • Criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences
  • Results of DNA reports and finger reports results
  • Juror information – name, address, bank account details to pay expenses
  • Witnesses – name, address, bank account details to pay expenses

When deciding what personal information to collect, use and hold, we are committed to making sure that we will:

  • Only collect, hold and use personal information where it is necessary and fair to do so
  • Keep your personal information secure and safe
  • Securely dispose of any personal information when it is no longer needed

We collect this data because we are required to under the Coroners Act 1988, the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and its subordinate legislation, and other legislation appertaining to the administrative and judicial functions of the Coroner.

How long we will keep your data for?

Matters reported to the Senior Coroner for Liverpool and Wirral that are deaths due to natural causes (Form 100A and 100B) are held for 15 years, after which the paper copy data will be destroyed.  Electronic records will be held indefinitely.

Cases which result in an inquest are held indefinitely, in paper form and electronically.

Why we need to collect your data

The Senior Coroner and Area Coroner must investigate all deaths which are violent or unnatural; where the cause of death is unknown; death while in custody or state detention. 

Your personal data is collected to enable us to administer the running of a Coroner's Office in order to carry out our statutory responsibilities under the different legislative frameworks.

In addition, we collect your personal data for the following:

  • Service delivery
  • Statistical analysis and reporting
  • Safeguarding (future prevention of death)

Who we share your data with and why

As inquests are publically accessible, this data will be shared with anyone attending the proceedings, including the press.

Article 23 of the GDPR introduces exemptions from the regulations of GDPR for the purpose of the protection of judicial independence and proceedings.

During the course of undertaking their statutory duties, the Senior Coroner and Area Coroner may share data with the following main organisations:

  • Liverpool City Council and Wirral Council
  • Chief Coroner
  • Merseyside Police
  • Pathologists
  • Funeral directors in Merseyside and surrounding areas
  • Local Coroners – specifically those where cases are often transferred to/from
  • NHS Hospital Trusts in the Liverpool & Wirral Coroner Area
  • Clinical Commissioning Groups covering Merseyside
  • Ministry of Justice
  • Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service
  • British Transport Police
  • North West Ambulance Service
  • Crown Prosecution Service
  • Health and Safety Executive
  • GP’s
  • Accident investigation branches
  • Liverpool and Wirral Register Office staff
  • Cemeteries and Crematoria in the Merseyside and surrounding area
  • Families affected, appointed executor representative of the person whose personal data we are processing
  • Financial organisations such as insurance companies and pension schemes
  • We provide information to Liverpool & Wirral Public Health for statistical purposes
  • Other organisations which from time to time are involved with an investigation and who are required to provide evidence or assistance to the Coroner

Where we have received your data from a third party

We primarily receive data from Merseyside Police, NHS Hospital Trusts in the Liverpool and Wirral Coroner Area and GP’s, however, data will be received from other organisations listed above. The data we have includes personal details and/or sensitive classes of data.

Automated decision-making

We do not use automated decision-making.

Will my data be transferred abroad?

No.

Use of CCTV

There is CCTV installed on the outside of our building and in the carparks for the purposes of monitoring building security and crime prevention and detection.

Images captured by CCTV will not be kept for longer than necessary. However, on occasions there may be a need to keep images for a longer period, for example where a crime is being investigated. CCTV images will only be disclosed to third parties for the purposes stated above. CCTV images will not be released to the media, used for entertainment purposes or placed on the internet.

What rights do I have when it comes to my data?

You have a number of rights that are set out on the How to access your data page of this section.

Where can I get advice?

View our Help and advice page for more information.