The Public Office (Accountability) Bill: Striking the Right Balance

In September 2025, the Government introduced the long awaited Public Office (Accountability) Bill (“the Bill”) into Parliament. Although the Bill is informally known as “Hillsborough Law”, it has not yet been enshrined into law. This is a lengthy process where the Bill will be rigorously debated and subject to amendments, both in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, before it officially becomes law.

In this article, we consider the steps that the Bill has gone through so far, the areas of key debate and recent amendments to balance competing interests, and the next steps for the Bill, including its potential impact on public authorities and officials.

First reading

The Bill has been introduced after years of campaigning by the bereaved families and survivors of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, in which 97 football fans tragically lost their lives. Advocates have long called for a legal framework that ensures public officials uphold principles of honesty and integrity, particularly during investigations, inquests and inquiries.

We explained in our previous article that following the Bill’s first reading in Parliament on 16 September 2025, if it was enshrined into law the Bill would:

• Create a statutory “duty of candour and assistance” on public authorities and officials, requiring them to act truthfully and cooperate with official investigations and inquiries, “ensuring wrongdoing is not concealed and delivering justice for victims”.
• Ensure that there is “parity of arms” with legal representation available for bereaved families in inquests.
• Introduce a set of measures aimed at addressing historic failures to engage, or engage in an open and transparent manner, in inquiry or inquest proceedings by public organisations and public servants.
• Create new criminal offences of (i) failing to uphold the duty of candour and assistance during an inquiry or investigation and (ii) misleading the public which applies where a public authority or public official acts with the intention of misleading the public (or are reckless as to whether their act will do so), and they know (or ought to know) that their actions are seriously improper.

The duty of candour and assistance applies to “public authorities” and “public officials”. The definition of "public authorities" is wide and includes government departments, Ministers, police forces, local authorities, NHS bodies, schools and further education providers. All employees of “public authorities” will be classified as "public officials" and the duty of candour and assistance will apply to them, including those who formerly, but no longer, hold such positions.

Second reading

The Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 3 November 2025, prompting significant debate amongst Ministers on the strength and scope of the proposed legislation. Key issues included:

• Whether definitions of “public interest” and “seriously improper” were sufficiently clear.
• If new misconduct offences would properly hold senior decision-makers accountable, and whether personal liability for senior leaders of public bodies should be introduced.
• The adequacy of legal aid provisions for victims and whistleblower protections.
• Whether the duty of candour should extend to media and social media companies, the intelligence services, and subcontractors.
• Whether the offence of misleading the public should apply where harm has occurred or could occur.

The Prime Minister committed that the Bill would not be watered down, and that any changes made to it will only strengthen it. He committed to amendments extending the duty of candour to ombudsman and local authority investigations and assured the House of Commons that the Bill would require clear whistleblowing procedures, empower coroners to enforce reasonable legal costs at inquests, and set a low threshold for harm (including mental distress) in proving offences.

Committee stage and extending the duty to local authority inquiries

The Public Bill Committee (“the Committee”) examined the Bill on 27 November 2025, taking evidence from representatives of the Hillsborough families, the Law Commission, relevant pressure groups such as INQUEST, and other bodies. Clause-by-clause analysis followed on 2 and 4 December 2025.

The Committee accepted some government amendments, the most significant of which was to extend the duty of candour and assistance, and the related power to give compliance directions, so as to include certain local authority inquiries. These duties would therefore apply to inquiries into serious incidents commissioned by local authorities into events where there was a significant risk of death, serious harm, or substantial economic loss resulting from dishonesty, impropriety or a serious breach of ethical or professional standards. This amendment was largely in response to concerns that the Bill as drafted would not apply to the planned local inquiries into grooming gangs.

The Committee also debated the inclusion of individual intelligence officers from intelligence and security services – such as MI5 (domestic security), MI6 (foreign intelligence) and GCHQ (communications) - within the scope of the duty of candour, noting the Bill originally excluded the intelligence services.

Third reading and transparency v national security

The report stage and third reading of the Bill, originally scheduled for 14 January 2026, were postponed until 19 January 2026. On 19 January 2026, the government announced it would delay the report stage and third reading of the Bill again so that further amendments could be made to “get the right balance between transparency and national security” following concerns regarding whether the duty of candour and assistance should apply to intelligence agencies and their employees. 

After discussions with campaigners, the government introduced several amendments intended to address this issue but some campaigners voiced concerns about how the accompanying safeguards would work in practice. 

Any extension of the duty to the intelligence services must ensure national security is not compromised. An established approach used in public inquiries and other proceedings where evidence is too sensitive for public disclosure, is for that evidence to be heard in closed proceedings. The public will not be able to attend these hearings or be able to access transcripts or recordings. As the Bill moves through the House of Commons, consideration may be given to how this procedure can be captured in the Bill.

The pause also provides an opportunity for broader reflection. Some campaigners want the duty of candour and assistance to be extended even further to a wider range of accountability mechanisms beyond public inquiries and investigations, such as commissioners and inspectorates.

A new date for the report stage and third reading has not yet been scheduled.

Potential impact on public authorities and officials

As the Bill passes through the Parliamentary stages and is amended as part of this process, it is becoming clear that it has implications that extend far beyond its origins in the Hillsborough inquests.

Once enshrined in law, it will reshape how public authorities operate. The changes include:

• A shift from reactive disclosure to proactive transparency requiring a public authority or public official to notify an inquiry or investigation if they think their acts, or the information they hold, might be relevant.
• Public authorities will need to have the ability to provide information to inquiries and inquests expeditiously, drawing the Chair’s/Coroner’s attention to any significant information or errors in previous submissions, and provide a position statement if requested.
• The need to justify decisions made on behalf of public authorities will likely bring documenting key decisions, and the reasons behind them, into sharper focus.
• Public authorities will need to adopt, and publish, a code which sets standards of conduct expected of people who work for the authority.
• The public authority will also need to take steps to ensure employees are aware of the code and the consequences of failing to act in accordance with it.

Taking early, proactive steps to introduce the necessary changes before the Bill becomes law means public authorities and officials can reduce compliance risks, reputational harm, and costs. These proactive steps may include:

• Undertaking an internal governance audit to identify any gaps and the steps that may need to be taken to ensure compliance with the Bill.
• Ensuring there is a robust record keeping system. This may include a centralised, searchable system and clear audit trails.
• Introducing systemic changes so relevant information can be promptly identified and provided to an inquiry, inquest or other investigation.
• Drafting or updating a code of conduct, in consultation with employees and representative bodies.
• Developing a training programme to embed the code of conduct across the organisation and ensure awareness of the requirement of proactive disclosure and the risks of misleading statements.
• Reviewing policies, procedures and management, performance and ethics frameworks to align with the obligations under the duty of candour.
• Establishing transparent whistleblowing channels with sufficient senior oversight.

Next steps

Once the report stage has been completed and the third reading in the House of Commons has taken place, the Bill will need to go through a similar process in the House of Lords before final amendments are considered and the Bill receives Royal Assent, thereby becoming enshrined in law.

Extending the duty of candour and assistance to the intelligence services, whilst safeguarding against unintended consequences for national security, is not a simple issue to resolve given the complexity of the necessary policy considerations. However, given the Bill was included in the Labour party's manifesto, the government will likely aim to advance it as quickly as possible despite these delays.

If you would like to discuss the implications of the Hillsborough Law for your organisation, or conducting or engaging with public inquiries and Coroner investigations, please do not hesitate to contact our Inquiries and Investigations team.