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King’s Speech promises duty of candour law after calls from Grenfell survivors
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has promised to introduce a duty of candour law for public servants, following calls from Grenfell and Hillsborough survivors.
The legislation, to be known as the Hillsborough Law, was included in the King’s Speech at the state opening of parliament on Wednesday, 17 July.
Briefing documents published alongside the King’s Speech said the law will address the “unacceptable defensive culture” prevalent across “too much of the public sector”.
According to the government, the bill will improve “transparency and accountability” where failure in the provision and delivery of public services is the subject of public investigation and scrutiny.
It will also help to ensure that “the lack of candour uncovered in recent reports is not repeated”, such as in the case of the Hillsborough and infected-blood inquiries.
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Alongside the legislation, the government said it would take action to “improve assistance for bereaved persons and core participants at inquests and public inquiries”, to ensure families are able to participate fully.
This includes delivering the government’s manifesto commitment to provide legal aid for victims of disasters or state-related death.
“It is part of our wider efforts to create a politics of public service,” the government said.
The announcement of the law came after MPs and Peers in the joint parliamentary committee on human rights said in May that public authorities “too frequently act defensively” in inquiries, and a duty of candour would require them to be more transparent and “help the search for the truth”.
Bereaved families and former residents of Grenfell Tower have called for a duty of candour law for public bodies, as well as a national body to oversee the implementation of recommendations from inquiries.
Grenfell United, the bereaved families and survivors’ group, said: “Hundreds of vital recommendations are made following inquiries and millions of pounds are spent, but what is the point if there is no system in place to make sure changes are made?”
The May parliamentary report quoted Pete Weatherby KC, who told the committee that in inquiries including Grenfell “there were the clearest examples of institutional, corporate and personal denial and obfuscation of the true facts”.
The report also cited the suffering of the families of the 97 people who died in the Hillsborough disaster, which was “compounded by a protracted failure” to uncover and acknowledge the truth of what had happened.
In May, it was announced that the final report from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry will be published on 4 September.
Debbie Caine, campaign director of Hillsborough Law Now, the campaign group, said: “This announcement has the potential to save and change lives for the many, not the few.”
Elkan Abrahamson, a solicitor at Broudie Jackson Canter, the law firm, said: “Public inquiries, inquests and investigations often fail to get to the truth because public authorities and officials cover up what happened to protect themselves. This law should stop all those who, in public office, serve themselves rather than the public.”
Mr Weatherby said: “I hope today offers some comfort to the thousands of people who, over decades, have been denied justice, truth and accountability by the state that things might soon change.
“It is because of the struggles of so many that we stand on the brink of changing the law and I pay tribute to all the thousands of campaigners who have stood up to be counted.”
Deborah Coles, director of Inquest, a charity providing advice on state-related deaths, and director of Hillsborough Law Now, said: “We welcome today’s commitment from the new government to implement a Hillsborough Law. This would not have happened without the longstanding campaigning from bereaved families and survivors.”
She added: “For too long, organisations have been more concerned with reputation management, concealing the truth and defending their policies and practices even where there is clear evidence of systemic and individual failure.”
Elizabeth Campbell, leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, said: “This is a hugely welcome and important step. Through our own involvement with the Grenfell Inquiry we have seen how adopting a duty of candour and taking a transparent approach can help to make real change happen.
"In recent years we have worked with and received advice from the right reverend James Jones, the former Bishop of Liverpool, who created the Hillsborough Charter, and we were the first public sector organisation to sign up to the charter after the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.
“What has become clear is the charter is a very powerful tool, useful for us not only in the immediate emergency and how to deal with serious failings, but also in day to day work and building relationships. A Hillsborough Law could be something that public sector organisations commit to and apply to everything they do, and I would expect the local government sector to be amongst the first to lead the way.”
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