To ask the Secretary of State for Defence in what circumstances his officials may decide the conclusions of a Board of Inquiry into a fatal incident are unsafe; what steps he is required to take to inform the coroner before or after an inquest has been held; by what procedures he may instruct the president of a board of inquiry to consider new evidence; and by what procedures a bereaved family may challenge the findings or recommendations of a board of inquiry. (230788)

Each board of inquiry's (BOI) provisional report is submitted to the relevant convening/reviewing authority for approval before the report is declared final. In considering the provisional report, the convening/reviewing authority may require the board to undertake further work because fresh evidence has come to light, because some evidence available to the BOI has been omitted, or because some relevant aspect has not been covered adequately and therefore the BOI has not met its terms of reference. Following completion of further work a revised provisional report must be submitted to the convening/reviewing authority for further consideration. This process may be undertaken as often as necessary to ensure the BOI has met its terms of reference. Where further work is required, the convening/reviewing authority should give specific instructions in writing to the BOI. Where it is considered that the BOI has met its terms of reference and no further work is required, the convening/reviewing authority makes its comments on the report and declares the provisional report as the final report and it notifies the president of the BOI that the inquiry has concluded and that the board is released from its duty. A copy of the final report is then made available to both the coroner and the next of kin if they wish to receive it.

Some coroners await the completion of the BOI report before they hold the inquest, although there is no requirement for any coroner to do so and, indeed, some choose not to. Where the coroner chooses to await the completion of a BOI before holding the inquest, the coroner is provided only with a copy of the final BOI report. Where a BOI is completed after the inquest is held there is no requirement to inform the coroner of its findings.

Where a BOI is held into the circumstances surrounding a death the MOD recognises that the bereaved families of Service personnel will have an interest in its conclusions and our policy is that we offer a personal briefing and a copy of the BOI report to the next of kin. Where the family wishes subsequently to question any aspect of the BOI they may do so in a number of ways: during the briefing given to them on the board's findings, conclusions and recommendations; through their Visiting Officer; by contacting the relevant single Service authority using the details provided with their copy of the BOI report; through their Member of Parliament; or by contacting the Ministry of Defence in writing by letter or email using the Ministry of Defence website.

Should new information come to light after the completion of the final report which the convening authority judges to cast doubt on the conclusions of the BOI, a new inquiry may be convened to review the findings in light of the new information.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the statement of 7 June 2007, Official Report, columns 26-8WS, on improved support for families, what response he has received from the Scottish Executive on whether provision could be made for inquiries into the deaths abroad of service personnel to take place in Scotland. (232460)

No reply has yet been received from the Scottish Executive to the letter sent by my right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State, to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Communities (Mr. MacAskill MSP) on 27 March 2008.