THE Coroners’ Service has predicted it will go £547,000 over budget this year while it hires extra staff to clear a backlog of inquests.

Essex County Council said it is in the process of recruiting three more members of staff to work in its 22-strong coroners’ office.

The aim is to cut delays in inquests, which have left families waiting up to 44 weeks to hear how their loved ones died.

Figures show things are already improving.

In 2009, 377 inquests were carried out, while so far this year 455 inquests have already been carried out and officers hope to total 600 by the end of December.

This is backed up in the average waiting time, which has fallen since 2009, from 44 weeks to 39 weeks. The national average is 26 weeks.

However, county chiefs said the predicted overspend was not just due to employment costs.

They also blamed increases in medical-related expenses, the costs of major inquests, and last year’s overspend, for the hike.

The county council took over running the Coroner’s Service from Essex Police in 2008.

The move, which was meant to save taxpayers money, involved closing seven local coroners’ offices and centralising the service at New Bridge House, in Chelmsford.

According to the council, the backlog predates centralisation.

However, when councillors debated the move in 2008, Essex Coroner Dr Peter Dean warned county control would lead to more delays and difficulties.

A spokesman for the county council said: “We are wholly committed to making the Coroner’s Service as efficient and focused on the needs of the bereaved as possible, and fulfilling its statutory obligation to both coroners to enable them to carry out their judicial functions.

“We have taken robust action to reduce the length of time it takes for an inquest to be heard, and as a result of this we have seen a reduction in the average time.

“Delays can be dependent on a number of factors beyond our control, such as delays in obtaining required information from external agencies.”