Key takeaways
Hillsborough law aims to boost accountability
Public bodies must be more open and transparent.
Duty of candour is a legal requirement
Organisations must act openly during investigations.
Legal changes could impact public authorities
Start preparing now to meet future obligations.
Introduction
On 16 September 2025, the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, or “Hillsborough Law”, had its first reading in the House of Commons. The draft provisions of the bill have now been unveiled.
What do the proposals for an Ethical Code of Conduct look like and how could they impact health and social care providers?
Who is it aimed at?
As it stands the Bill only applies to public authorities, so what about private health and social care organisations?
The definition of “public authority” could include private health and social care providers where the private provider is exercising a public function.
For example, it will be interesting to see whether a privately paying patient would fall outside the category of public function and whether a patients being treated at a private provider under contracts commissioned by a public authority could? One to keep an eye on.
Just another code of conduct?
As discussed in previous articles, if enacted, the duty placed on public officials (NHS, schools, local authorities) will be to proactively act with candour, transparency and frankness in their dealings with inquiries and investigations. Where there is non-compliance, significant criminal sanctions could be pursued.
If criminal sanctions are the repercussion, the Ethical Code of Conduct is the prevention order to fortify the duty, it is proposed that all public authorities, including health and social care providers, will need to establish their own mandatory Ethical Code of Conduct.
It is likely that this would need to cover:
Implementation by the organisation of the statutory legal duty of candour.
Guidance on how staff can avoid allegations of misleading the public/media through press statements.
A protocol through which the organisation will disclose witness statements and what those statements should proactively cover.
How staff should behave to demonstrate that they are assisting inquiries and investigations.
Outline internal consequences for staff who do not comply – this could for example, include referral to regulatory bodies or HR processes.
This would compel public authorities to define and enforce what behaviours are expected of their staff and organisation, and by doing so, public authorities would optimise their compliance with the Bill.
The healthcare sector already houses various codes of conduct, however this one, demarcated as “ethical”, would specifically address adherence to a new legal duty of candour.
Conclusion
The top takeaway is that in the main, the Ethical Code of Conduct will formalise the way in which health and social care organisations engage with inquiries and investigations. A clear framework will have to be adopted.
It will be interesting to see how regulatory bodies such as the CQC and GMC approach this if breaches were established at a regulated provider or by a regulated professional.
As in other areas, the proposed Hillsborough Law raises the stakes by attaching custodial criminal penalties for failures to comply. The organisation’s Ethical Code of Conduct would form the basis of any allegations of non-compliance. Health and Social Care organisations will need to make sure all staff are trained in the provisions of the organisation’s internal Ethical Code of Conduct.
Keep an eye out for our upcoming articles on this Bill, there is so much more to discuss!
You can find more information on this in our previous article of this series here.