In March we wrote to inform you that the Coroners’ Society of England and Wales (CSEW) had informed us they would be withdrawing from the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Coroners for the 2025 pay round.
Joint Negotiating Committee for Coroners Management Side
Sarah Ward
Management Side Secretary,
Local Government Association, 18 Smith Square,
London, SW1P 3HZ
[email protected]
To: Chief executives (London Boroughs, Metropolitan Districts, County Councils and Unitary Councils in England and Wales)
17 July 2025
Dear colleague,
1. In March we wrote to inform you that the Coroners’ Society of England and Wales (CSEW) had informed us they would be withdrawing from the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) Coroners for the 2025 pay round. You can read more about this in our circular dated 21 March 2025 but as a reminder, The CSEW letter stated:
“I must now inform you that at a CSEW Council meeting held on Thursday 13th March 2025, the Society voted overwhelmingly in favour of withdrawing from the JNC on the basis that it is no longer fit for purpose and is not a proper method of determining a judicial salary for Coroners. Please, therefore, take this letter as notice of the Society’s formal withdrawal from the JNC and that, for this year’s round of negotiations, Coroners will be dealing directly with their relevant local authority.”
2. In response, Management side members sent a letter to the CSEW dated 9 April 2025, which contained the following paragraph:
“We do not believe that this decision in simply walking away from the JNC without an alternative mechanism in place is in the best interest of your members, or of local authorities. We suspect that local authorities would have understood a withdrawal from the JNC in exchange for joining the Senior Salaries Review Body for example, having first obtained a commitment that any pay awards recommended by the SSRB would be funded by the MOJ. However, without that, and by simply replacing the JNC with local and individual bargaining, it creates a situation that is less than ideal. To that end, we will ensure our door remains open for dialogue, should you wish to explore that.”
3. Since then, we have continued to respond to requests for information from local authorities and provide supporting (but non directional) advice. To this end we have issued:
- an initial circular JNC 70 (on March 21) to update local authorities
- a more detailed briefing note (issued via Regional Employer organisations for onward cascade on 15 April)
- we issued a further update on 24 April providing an overview of salary trends across local government
- the management side secretary has also attended and presented at a number of regional meetings for LA HR officers responsible for coronial pay.
4. The LGA’s Economy and Resources Board Chair (Cllr Marland) wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice on 30 April to highlight the issues the CSEW withdrawal has caused and asking for clarity on the future of coronial pay and to express concern that this situation is placing an additional and unnecessary burden on local authorities.
5. On 16 June a letter of acknowledged receipt was received from the office of the SoS, and we anticipate a fuller reply in due course.
6. In the meantime, we are aware that many coroners have written to individual chief executives/local authorities regarding pay and salary levels, with some stating that they should be automatically paid in line with the judiciary. This is not an argument that the management side of the JNC has previously accepted, preferring instead to take account of a range of factors, as with any bargaining situation and in line with all local government negotiating committees (while respecting, of course, that coroners are not employees).
7. The Management side of the JNC met recently to discuss how best to continue to support local authorities on this matter. Among other actions, it was agreed to conduct a survey of local authorities to better understand the views of local authorities with coronial responsibility.
8. To that end, we invite local authorities to complete the survey by noon on 28 July 2025. If you have any questions about completing the survey, please send these to [email protected]
9. We will continue to keep you informed as far as is possible.
Best wishes
Sarah Ward
Management Side Secretary
JNC for Coroners