Richard Travers
Officers’ Side Secretary
Coroners’ Society of England & Wales
By email only
28 January 2026
Dear Richard,
Cllr Marland received a letter on 9 January from the Deputy Director of the MOJ who holds responsibility for Death Management, Inquiries and Coroners, and I understand a similar letter and message has been shared with you.
The position of the management side of the JNC (as was) remains, that local authorities have limited time and resource to bargain individual local arrangements and that it is a far more efficient use of public money to agree one pay review at a national level each year.
In addition, our position is that consistency and fairness among the coronial service is best served in this way, ensuring there are fewer workforce challenges between services that rely on either local funding or geography for example, everyone is treated equally.
A national approach is also consistent with the many other pay bargaining mechanisms that exist right across the local government family. To that end, we remain committed to the JNC, and we would encourage your members to return to that model of single table bargaining.
Let me address the issues at the heart of this disagreement, specifically, whether coroners are part of local government or part of the judiciary. It is clear from the representation that the CSEW have been making both nationally and locally that you believe it to be the latter.
However, judicial salaries are settled via the Senior Salaries Review Body. This dispute, and I believe the representation of both sides (which sought to find a resolution either way), was an opportunity for the Lord Chancellor to signal an agreement with your view and move the coronial service away from local government for pay purposes.
The letter Cllr Marland received from the MOJ does not contain that conclusion and instead encourages us both to get back round the table. I understand the MOJ have shared a similar message with you. The letter also points to ways that the role may have evolved since the pandemic and suggests that a joint review should take place.
You will recall that this agreement (to revisit the Korn Ferry Hay pay benchmarking report) has been on the table between us for some years, and was in our pay offer in 2023, though postponed at the request of the CSEW in order to await the outcome of the major review of the judicial salary structure, which is now underway.
It is the proposal of the management side, that if you do agree to reform the JNC for the purposes of settling pay for 2026 and beyond, that we go ahead with that review, and seek to agree a terms of reference for that work.
We recognise how frustrating this situation has been for all involved, and we recognise the points that the CSEW have made and continue to represent.
The members of the management side of the JNC have always underlined the value and respect they have for the Coronial service, both locally and nationally, and it is genuinely the wish of our side of the committee, that we put this back together, and find a way of moving forward collegiately, into 2026.
We await your reply.
With best wishes,
Sarah Ward
Management Side Secretary