In brief
- The Government has introduced a new bill to Parliament that seeks to impose a duty of candour on public authorities and public officials, creating a criminal offence for those who fail to comply.
- The Bill seeks to extend obligations and/or duties to businesses acting on behalf of public bodies.
- Also known as the 'Hillsborough law', the Bill follows a long campaign by the families of the victims and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster.
- The date of the second reading of the Bill is yet to be confirmed, and it remains to be seen whether there will be sufficient political will to move it forward.
Last week, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, also known as the Hillsborough Law, was introduced to Parliament.
Its purpose is to impose a more stringent duty on public authorities and officials to act with candour, transparency and frankness. The Bill makes a series of provisions for the enforcement of the duty, as well as introducing criminal offences for public authorities and officials who mislead the public.
The Bill is the product of a long campaign by families of the victims and the survivors of the Hillsborough tragedy, where, in the aftermath of the disaster in 1989, the police sought to blame the football fans who attended the game for the 97 deaths and countless injuries that were suffered. The Bill also responds to a series of recent events including, but not limited to, the Grenfell Fire, the Post Office Horizon scandal, the COVID-19 inquiry, and the NHS infected blood scandal. The hope is that the Bill will mark the end of what many see as an all too familiar pattern of blame-shifting and concealment by public authorities and public officials during public inquiries into tragic incidents and high-profile scandals.
Key provisions
- Duty of candour and assistance: The Bill requires public authorities and public officials to, at all times, act with candour, transparency and frankness in their dealings with inquiries and investigations. Failure to comply will be a criminal offence.
- Notification and assistance: Public authorities and public officials have a duty to notify the person leading an inquiry if their acts may be relevant to the inquiry or investigation, or they have information that is relevant. They must provide all assistance they can reasonably give to assist an inquiry or investigation.
- Extension to service providers: Significantly, despite its name, the Bill extends beyond those in public office to include individuals and businesses with 'public responsibilities'. This includes those who have carried out activities in connection with the incident, which were carried out as a service provider to a public authority, and which have consequently had a significant impact on members of the public. For example, in the case of Grenfell, this might include building contractors responsible for installing cladding on behalf of the local council. With this in mind, it is important that businesses that are contracted by public authorities to provide services are alive to their own duties as set out in the Bill.
How effective will the Bill be?
The Hillsborough Law was first proposed following the conclusion of the second set of Hillsborough inquests in 2016, aiming to prevent future injustices. The first draft of the Bill was introduced in March 2017 but had since fallen off the Parliamentary timetable. Sir Kier Starmer committed, at the 2022 Labour Party Conference, to "put the Hillsborough Law onto the statute book", but it has since been subject to further revisions and delay, sparking fears that the duty and obligations in the Bill would be watered down, rendering them futile or unenforceable.
Despite delays, the provisions in the draft Bill are robust. It marks a significant moment in British politics, as it seeks to turn the tide on a pattern of concealment and self-preservation, and create genuine accountability mechanisms for those in public office.
Concerns have, however, been raised regarding the practicalities of enforcing the Bill. It remains to be seen, for example, how a duty of honesty can be effectively regulated. It is of note, that the Government's Impact Assessment, published alongside the Bill, affirms that the "legislation is not anticipated to significantly change the number of prosecutions". This can be interpreted in one of two ways: either it is envisaged that the introduction of the legislation will cause a shift in behaviour, such that no individuals will breach the new duty of candour, or it is recognised that establishing a breach will be challenging and the threshold for prosecution will be high.
Another key provision in the Bill is it that it seeks to implement the largest expansion of legal aid in a decade. The Government's manifesto committed to "provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related deaths". One of the injustices that emerged from the Hillsborough disaster inquests was that, while public authorities are often legally represented, legal aid for the victims and bereaved families is often limited and only available under 'Exceptional Case Funding'. The Bill aims to ensure that bereaved families can access non-means-tested legal aid and have representation at inquests. The costs of this legal aid are intended to be covered by the relevant public body, which will also be required to ensure its own legal costs are proportionate.
What happens next?
The date for the Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Commons is yet to be confirmed.
The Bill serves as an illustration of Sir Kier Starmer's stated commitment to try to rebuild public confidence in politics and those holding public office. Given the turbulent recent weeks for the Labour Party, it will be interesting to see the extent to which the Bill is welcomed across the House and the source of any proposals to water-down its provisions.
If you would like to know more about how we can advise on the Bill and its applicability to you or your business, please contact a member of the firm's Politics and Law Group.