Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has had discussions with the (a) General Medical Council and (b) Health and Care Professions Council on signing the Hillsborough Charter.

There have been no discussions between the department’s ministers and the General Medical Council or the Health and Care Professions Council on signing the Hillsborough Charter. As set out on 6 December 2023, in the Government's response to Bishop James Jones' independent report, many organisations, in addition to His Majesty’s Government, have already signed the Hillsborough Charter, including the National Police Chiefs’ Council, College of Policing, Crown Prosecution Service, Fire Service, and Kensington and Chelsea Council. This Government will encourage and work with other public bodies to adopt the Charter and commit to learn the lessons of the Hillsborough families disaster, to ensure that the failings we saw in the aftermath of the disaster are never repeated.