Key takeaways
A statutory duty of candour for inquiries
Clear expectations for transparency, cooperation, and accountability.
Stronger powers for inquiry chairs to enforce compliance
Compliance directions and reporting to ensure duties are being followed.
Use of legal representation must be necessary and proportionate
Needs to balance fairness, cost, and support for affected participants.
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.
So, what does it mean for those involved in an inquiry, especially health and social care providers?
Suggested duties
The new bill will amend the Inquiries Act 2005 (which applies to statutory inquiries) to require public authorities and officials to act at all times during an inquiry with candour, transparency and frankness. This would also apply to non-statutory inquiries.
Public authorities and bodies would need to:
Notify the person leading an inquiry if they believe their acts might be relevant or they hold information that might be relevant.
Provide all reasonable assistance to the inquiry including:
providing information
drawing attention to information
correcting errors or omissions previously provided
providing a position statement (public authorities), or
providing further information or clarification if requested by the inquiry
Act quickly, efficiently and without bias or personal interest.
Guidance may be issued setting out the principles that should guide core participant’s conduct at an inquiry. The duty of candour won’t override other legal obligations, like data protection or legal privilege. The duty ends when the inquiry ends.
The duty of candour may also apply to those who have a relevant public responsibility.
There will be offences for failing to comply with this duty, misleading the public and misconduct in public office (see our article for more detail).
Concerns
If concerns arise during an inquiry about how the public authority or its lawyers are behaving the chair can report it, if they think action is needed to stop or prevent it, to the following:
The person who appears to have overall responsibility for the management of the authority; and /or
The person the chair believes has the power to stop or prevent the behaviour
The person must provide a written response.
Compliance direction
Under the new proposals, the inquiry chair will issue a 'compliance direction' to public authorities or officials to make sure they follow the duties. This will be sent to the person who appears to be in charge of the authority or body (e.g. CEO) and can be given at any time during an inquiry.
Legal representation
Public authorities, who are a core participant, should only use legal representatives when both necessary and proportionate. They must also make sure their lawyers act in line with the authority’s responsibilities.
The bill sets out that the following should be considered when deciding if legal representation is necessary and proportionate:
The differing positions of whether the affected people can afford and access legal support
The level of assistance the authority must give the inquiry, including the scope of disclosure and other matters
The importance of the issues being investigated and the need for them to be investigated fairly, proportionately, efficiently and cost-effectively
Conclusion
This Bill aims to foster a culture of accountability and trust by embedding a statutory duty of candour and transparency. The provisions offer clarity on expectations and consequences and raise practical considerations for organisations around legal representation, internal governance and compliance. It will also strengthen duties and offences for non-statutory inquiries.
If the Bill is passed, public authorities will need to review their inquiry protocols, ensure staff are trained on the new duties, and establish clear lines of responsibility to meet these obligations effectively.
If you’d like to revisit any articles in this series, you can do so by visiting ‘Our view’. Alternatively, if you’d like to discuss them further, please get in touch with our Inquiries and Investigations team.
