Bereaved Sunderland mum helps to draw up inquest advice for parents

Sue Robson’s daughter Tina Robson died in July last year.

The 35-year-old, who had battled with addiction and mental health issues, was living in Stockton at the time.

Tina’s mum Sue has been working with lawyers to draw up guidelines for families who lose loved ones in similar

“Gemma Vine, our solicitor, a specialist from ison harrison solicitors, and Ciara Bartlett, the barrister from Garden Court North Chambers, are part of wider partnership with the Museum of Homelessness, Shelter, and Greater Manchester Law Centre that have just published a short guide for bereaved families where loved ones have died in emergency or hostel accommodation during the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Sue.

"Some of the detailed work that I have done on Tina’s Inquest has informed the guide and there is also a broader campaign to shine a light upon death of vulnerable people with complex needs in temporary homeless accommodation.”

An inquest into Tina’s death will be held next year and is expected to last up to four days. A pre-inquest hearing in Middlesbrough has set out the areas next year’s inquiry will examine.

Sue said she was pleased that the hearing would be a thorough investigation into Tina’s death but ‘a little disappointed’ that it would not look at whether the case had breached article 2 of the Human Rights Act, the right to life.

“Whilst we are encouraged that Her Majesty's Assistant Coroner Karin Welsh seems entirely committed to an in-depth inquest over four days, we are a little disappointed that Article 2 (Human Right to Life) was not engaged, as we feel that Tina’s Inquest is not just a matter for her family but in the public interest,” she said.

“Despite the Government’s “Everyone In” scheme, coupled with a £700million package of support, according to The Dying Homeless Project there was a 37% increase in homeless deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, many of these in emergency or temporary accommodation as Tina was.”

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