Found: that the current Government is pursuing other aspects of the Hillsborough Law via the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: You may know already that a week ago we had the Second Reading of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: COMMONS INTRODUCTION I wanted to confirm that the Government has introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: COMMONS INTRODUCTION I wanted to confirm that the Government has introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: In parallel, the Government is giving ongoing consideration to the content of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the anticipated commencement dates for each of the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government will not delay bringing the measures in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill into force.

We are urgently looking at what is required effectively to implement each of the measures.

We will update the House in due course on the planned timeline for implementation and commencement.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will take legislative steps to require public sector organisations to publish reports on (a) internal culture, (b) risk management and (c) the implementation of inquiry recommendations.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is currently progressing through parliament. The legislation will include a requirement that all public bodies establish a professional duty of candour for staff set out within a wider code of ethics. This obligation will require public bodies to promote the ethical conduct of their employees. The Government will drive forward implementation with determination and hold public sector organisations accountable. Public Sector leaders will join ministers on a dedicated new implementation board to monitor progress.

Public inquiries are independent of Government and can make recommendations of their choosing. Government takes the recommendations of inquiries very seriously, and determines which recommendations it accepts. To ensure clarity and transparency of progress on the recommendations that Government has accepted, we have established a record on GOV.UK of inquiry recommendations, starting with the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and Infected Blood Inquiry. This will be periodically updated and expanded to capture future inquiry recommendations. This will be an enduring mechanism for monitoring and tracking government implementation of inquiry recommendations. It will allow the public to track the progress of implementation enhancing public trust in Government.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the provisions in chapter 2 of part 2 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will (a) apply to councillors and (b) be in addition to section 28 of the Localism Act 2011.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Code of Ethics requirement will apply to those working for public authorities, and therefore will not apply to elected officials, including councillors. Elected officials have a different relationship with institutions and are accountable to the public, not employers.

There are different arrangements for governing behaviour of elected officials. The Government recently consulted on a range of proposals to strengthen the current local government standards regime.

The response to the consultation will be published shortly.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered establishing a cross-Governmental oversight body to monitor Departmental compliance with the legal aid elements of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Bill expands the scope of legal aid, allowing bereaved families to access legal help and advocacy for inquests whenever a public authority is an Interested Person without means testing. By bringing advocacy into scope, the Bill removes the requirement for families to navigate the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) process to access representation at these inquests.

The legal aid provisions will be enshrined in law and administered by the Legal Aid Agency. Therefore, a cross-government oversight body to monitor compliance has not been considered during the Bill’s development.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on (a) the (i) processing and (ii) public interest considerations of Freedom of Information Act requests and (b) how Ministers reply to written Parliamentary Questions.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill are not intended to have any impact on the processing or public interest considerations of Freedom of Information Act requests. The Bill does not alter the existing law or guidance about how public authorities are required to respond to freedom of information requests or the expectations on ministers in replying to written Parliamentary Questions.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of section 1 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on judicial reviews of (a) public bodies and (b) Ministerial decisions.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Clause 1 of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill sets out that the purpose of the Bill is to ensure that public authorities and public officials at all times perform their functions (a) with candour, transparency and frankness, and (b) in the public interest. Clause 1 then sets out how the remainder of the Bill achieves that purpose.

Clause 1 does not in itself establish new obligations subject to judicial review.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides to bereaved families awaiting coroner's inquests.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is swift as possible and puts the bereaved at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems. However, as coroner services are locally funded and administered, operational issues are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

We will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services across the 74 coroner areas in England and Wales. This work will also take into account the implications of the recently introduced Public Office (Accountability) Bill for the delivery of coroner services and the experience of the bereaved at inquest.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill will apply to (a) town and (b) parish councillors.

Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill reforms abolish the common law offence of misconduct in public office and introduce two new offences: seriously improper acts and breach of duty to prevent death or serious injury. These new offences apply to elected officials, including town and parish councillors.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of clause 3(2)(a) of the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill on freedom of speech.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill - known as the ‘Hillsborough Law’ - was introduced in Parliament on 16 September 2025. The Bill includes a new offence of misleading the public. It applies where a public authority or public official acts with the intention of misleading the public (or is reckless as to that possibility) and they know, or ought to know, that their act is seriously improper. This offence has been designed with Hillsborough at the front of mind and is intended to capture the most serious instances of public officials or authorities misleading the public.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what plans he has to ensure (a) Rt hon. and hon. Members and (b) other elected representatives are held to account for (i) misleading the public and (ii) repeating inaccurate information.

Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office

Honesty is one of the Seven Principles of Public Life, which form the ethical basis of officeholders' standards in public life. All officeholders, including MPs and other elected representatives, have a responsibility to provide accurate information to the public.

For MPs, the Seven Principles are enshrined in the Commons Code of Conduct. The House has mechanisms available to ensure MPs uphold these standards, and individual MPs are directly accountable to their constituents.

Regarding locally elected representatives, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on proposed measures to strengthen the standards framework for local authorities in England in December 2024. The Government's response will be issued in due course.

In addition, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, introduced on 16th September, contains an offence of misleading the public. This applies where a public authority or public official acts with the intention of misleading the public (or is reckless as to that possibility) and they know, or ought to know, that their act is seriously improper. The definition of ‘public official’ for this purpose includes ministers.

Found: (Correction to division list on 6 November 2002 640 c862) Public Office (Accountability) Bill 03

Found: Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2024-26

Found: The Public Office (Accountability) Bill (also known as the Hillsborough Bill) is currently before Parliament

Found: Nick Thomas-Symonds 2025-06-30 Mayor of ManchesterMayor of Liverpool To discuss the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: Mayor of Liverpool

Found: Public Office (Accountability) Bill: Misconduct in Public Office Measures Background The Government

Found: 1 Title: Public Office (Accountability) Bill: Misconduct in Public Office Measures IA No:

Found: And so the “duty of candour” provisions in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill w ill include three

Found: 1 Public Office (Accountability) Bill – Equalities Impact Assessment for the Parity of arms measures

Found: Public Office (Accountability) Bill: Parity of Arms Factsheet Background At the first Hillsborough

Found: 1 Title: Public Office (Accountability) Bill – Parity of Arms measures IA No: MOJ033

Found: 1 Public Office (Accountability) Bill – Equalities Impact Assessment for the Misconduct in Public

Found: 1 Public Office (Accountability) Bill – Equalities Impact Assessment for the Duty of Candour Measures

Found: The Public Office (Accountability) Bill – otherwise known as the Hillsborough Law – introduced to Parliament

Found: The Public Office (Accountability) Bill – to be known as the Hillsborough Law – will introduce seismic

Found: The Public Office (Accountability) Bill (also known as the Hillsborough Bill) is currently before Parliament

Found: currently providing or interested in providing advice and representation under the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: The Public Office (Accountability) Bill (also known as the Hillsborough Bill) is currently before Parliament

Found: arrangements, in line with the planned forthcoming obligations of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: 2nd October 2025 LEGISLATIVE CONSENT MEMORANDUM Public Office (Accountability) Bill

Found: Constitution Committee to consider and report on the Legislative Consent Memorandum on the Public Office (Accountability) Bill