Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government (1) what assessment they have made of the performance and impact of the statutory duty of candour on NHS staff and health service providers, and (2) how many fines have been imposed on healthcare organisations for failing to comply with the duty of candour, broken down by year since the duty was introduced.

A review announced by the Government in December 2023 is currently underway to assess the operation and enforcement of the statutory duty of candour. The process includes gathering evidence from National Health Service staff and health service providers via a Call for Evidence, which is currently live, and is due to close on 29 May 2024. The Care Quality Commission has provided figures on the number of fixed penalty notices issued to providers for failure to comply with the duty, since it was introduced in 2014. The following table shows the number if fixed penalty notices issued each year from 2014 to 2023: