The Implications of Hillsborough Law

The Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2025, known informally as ‘Hillsborough Law’, presents a landmark shift in public sector accountability. The Bill introduces a new ‘duty of candour’ on public sector officials and a legal duty to assist in inquests and public inquiries, backed by criminal sanctions.

Joanna Lloyd, Carlton Sadler and Priyesh Patel are experts in advising organisations engaged in inquests and public inquiries. In this session, they explored what these reforms mean in practice for healthcare providers and local authorities, and the likely impact of expanding legal aid for bereaved families to all inquests where a public authority is an interested person.