Coroner's Service

Privacy Notice

This privacy notice is specifically for the Senior Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, including the area and assistant coroners. This privacy notice explains:

  • how personal information is obtained
  • the purpose for which it is used
  • who it might be shared with and why
  • how long it is kept.

The information you provide helps us deliver our services effectively. The Senior Coroner must investigate all deaths which are violent or unnatural, where the cause of death is unknown, and where a death occurs while in custody or state detention.

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

The legal basis for processing is compliance with a Legal Obligation.

Your personal data is collected to enable us to carry out our statutory responsibilities under the different legislative frameworks.

Personal data relates to living individuals, not to those who are deceased. The Coroner may process personal data about living individuals:

  1. About people who are in contact with the Coroner during the course of normal coronial business, for example, local authority employees (including coroners’ officers), police officers, ambulance staff, pathologists, jurors, registration staff, GPs, NHS staff, solicitors, funeral directors, witnesses and expert witnesses, members of the public, interested persons, etc.
  2. Information about a deceased person may also sometimes identify living individuals.

The categories of personal data we are processing are:

  • name
  • date of birth
  • medical history from the 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.

The data controller for the Coroners Services is the Senior Coroner, Mr Christopher Campbell Wilkinson.

In addition, we collect your personal data for:

  • service delivery
  • statistical analysis and reporting
  • safeguarding (future prevention of death).

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

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

  • Hampshire County Council
  • Portsmouth City Council
  • Southampton City Council
  • District and Borough councils
  • The Chief Coroner
  • Hampshire Police
  • Pathologists
  • Funeral Directors in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and surrounding areas
  • Local Coroners - specifically those where cases are often transferred to or from
  • NHS Hospital Trusts in Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and surrounding areas
  • Ministry of Justice
  • Fire and Rescue Services
  • British Transport Police
  • South East Ambulance Service
  • Crown Prosecution Service
  • Health and Safety Executive
  • GPs
  • Accident investigation branches
  • Registration of Births and Deaths office staff
  • Local Authority support staff
  • cemeteries and crematoria in the Hampshire 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
  • Hampshire and Isle of Wight Public Health Intelligence Team
  • other organisations, which from time to time are involved with an investigation and who are required to provide evidence or assistance to the Coroner.

We primarily receive data from the Police, NHS Hospital Trusts in the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Coroner's area and GPs; however, data will be received from other organisations listed above. The data we have includes personal details and/or special category personal data.

Personal data relating to deaths that are reported to the Senior Coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton is held for a minimum of 15 years.

If you have any queries or concerns about how your data has been processed, please contact [email protected].

Further information

The above information is the specific privacy notice for this service. For more information about your rights in relation to your personal data, see the County Council’s general privacy notice.

You have some legal rights in respect of the personal information we collect from you. See our Data Protection page for further details.

You can contact the County Council’s Data Protection Officer by email [email protected].

If you have a concern about the way we are collecting or using your personal data, you should raise your concern with us in the first instance or directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office.