The Hillsborough Law: What a Statutory Duty of Candour Could Mean for Schools and Academy Trusts

You may have seen it referred to as "the Hillsborough Law" — its formal name is the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, and it's still making its way through Parliament rather than being in force. Progress has stalled over disagreements about exemptions for the intelligence services, but there's broad cross-party consensus on the core idea, and it's expected to survive in some form. It's worth understanding now, before it lands.

What the Bill would actually require

At its heart is a new statutory duty of candour and assistance, requiring public bodies to be truthful, accurate and helpful when engaging with inquiries and inquests. Crucially, this isn't a passive duty to answer questions when asked — it would require organisations to proactively identify and disclose relevant information, rather than waiting to be asked for it.

Who it would reach

The scope is broad: government departments, emergency services, NHS bodies, local authorities, universities and further education institutions, and private organisations carrying out public functions or contracts. Local authority-maintained schools sit within that scope directly, and academy trusts — delivering a public education function under contract with the Department for Education — sit close enough to it that the direction of travel matters, even before the exact boundaries of "public function" are settled in the final text.

Why this is relevant to facilities and safeguarding, not just legal teams

Where this duty would bite hardest for schools and community venues is exactly where facilities management, health and safety and safeguarding already overlap: a serious accident, a building safety failure, or a safeguarding incident that ends up in front of a coroner or a statutory inquiry. Welfare records, disability support arrangements, maintenance and inspection records, and safeguarding concerns would all become material that needs to be disclosed proactively and accurately — not tidied up retrospectively.

What to do while it's still a Bill

There's no commencement date yet, and we'd rather you didn't overreact to a Bill that hasn't received Royal Assent. But good record-keeping and an honest reporting culture are good practice regardless of when — or whether — this specific law lands in its current form:

1. Keep incident and inspection records complete and contemporaneous — recorded at the time, not reconstructed afterwards.
2. Make sure fixes are documented, not just carried out. "We sorted it" isn't evidence; a dated record of what was found and what was done is.
3. Review your safeguarding and incident reporting culture — is the instinct to disclose promptly, or to wait and see if it's asked about?
4. Keep a clear paper trail on responsibility — who signed off what, and when — so retrospective disclosure doesn't become a reconstruction exercise.
5. Watch for the Bill's progress rather than assuming it's dropped; the core duty provisions look likely to survive even if timelines slip.

If you'd like a review of how your current incident reporting and record-keeping would hold up under this kind of scrutiny, get in touch for a free 30-minute consultation.

This article is general guidance, not legal advice, and reflects the Bill's status as reported at the time of writing. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill has not completed its passage through Parliament and its final scope and commencement date may change — consult a qualified legal adviser for a definitive view.