16.3 |
Military fatalities and the bereaved
241.
On 7 January
2007, Mr Lee McCauley, MOD Assistant Director of
Defence
Resources
and Plans, wrote to a Treasury official to advise him that the MOD
had
“reluctantly
concluded” that all additional costs related to the Oxfordshire
Coroner should
be “funded
this year through Defence”.145
There were
several arguments against doing
so, but
Ministers wanted the issue to be resolved. Treasury approval would
be required,
as the MOD
did not have authority to meet costs that fell to other parts of
Government.
242.
Mr McCauley
proposed that the MOD treat the costs as part of the
Net
Additional Cost
of Military Operations (NACMO), and claim them from the
Treasury
in the
normal way. If that was not possible, the MOD would need to find
the funds within
its core
settlement.
243.
On 13 February
2007, Mr Browne wrote to Ms Harman:
“My
officials have explored at length with the Treasury the possibility
of making a
claim
against the Reserve. The Treasury have refused on the principle
that such
costs
should lie where they fall and this is not a legitimate charge to
Defence for
the
additional costs of operations. In light of this, I cannot accept
an argument
that the
backlog stems solely from MOD policy: there are sound practical
reasons
for
repatriation of bodies to RAF Brize Norton but there are also, as
the current
initiative146
shows, ways
in which the burden may be shared with other
coroners.”147
244.
Mr Browne
concluded by confirming that he held to his earlier offer to
contribute
£125,000
towards the additional costs of the Oxfordshire Coroner during
2006/07.
That
contribution should not be seen as setting a precedent for MOD
funding to address
“future
inquest backlogs, should they arise”.
245.
Ms Harman
replied on 27 March, expressing her disappointment with
that
contribution
but confirming that she would accept it.148
She would
expect the MOD
to
contribute if further backlogs emerged.
246.
Ministers
provided quarterly reports to the House of Commons on
progress
in clearing
the backlog of inquests in Oxfordshire. The table below
summarises
these reports.
247.
The first
report, in June 2006, covered only outstanding inquests into deaths
relating
to
Iraq.149
Subsequent
reports included outstanding inquests relating to previous
conflicts
and
military exercises overseas, for which the Oxfordshire Coroner was
responsible.
145
Letter
McCauley to Treasury [junior official], 11 January 2007,
‘Oxfordshire Coroner: Funding’.
146
To allocate
inquests directly to ‘home‑town’ coroners, bypassing the
Oxfordshire Coroner.
147
Letter
Browne to Harman, 13 February 2007, ‘Proposals Arising from Meeting
with Relatives of Service
Personnel
on their Experience of the Inquest System’.
148
Letter
Harman to Browne, 27 March 2007, ‘Proposals Arising from Meeting
with Relatives
of Service
Personnel
on their Experience of the Inquest System’.
149
House of
Commons, Official
Report, 5 June
2006, column 4WS.
119