To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many and what proportion of inquests held into potential finds of treasure have been held within three months of the case being referred to the coroner in each year since the Treasure Act 1996 came into force; and if he will make a statement; (254535)

The Ministry of Justice collects statistics on the number of finds under the Treasure Act 1996 reported to coroners in England and Wales during each calendar year, the number of treasure inquests concluded during the year and, of these, the number of verdicts of treasure returned. Information is not collected on the time taken to conduct treasure inquests.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate his Department has made of the annual running cost of an office of a Coroner for Treasure; what proportion of such costs he expects to be incurred in relation to main funds; and if he will make a statement. (254548)

We estimate that the total annual running cost of implementing an office of a coroner for treasure would be £324,000.

There is no provision in the Coroners and Justice Bill for a Coroner for Treasure.