Public Inquiry

Taylor Inquiry

Status: Completed Chair: Lord Justice Taylor Established: May 1989 Report: Jan 1990 Commissioned by: Home Office

Inquiry into the Hillsborough disaster of 15 April 1989 when 97 Liverpool FC supporters were fatally crushed at Sheffield Wednesday's ground during an FA Cup semi-final.

Historical inquiry (pre-Inquiries Act 2005). Listed for reference — recommendation progress is not actively tracked.

Response status

This is a historical inquiry. Per-recommendation tracking is not available. See the Legacy & Impact section below.

Legacy & impact

AI-generated · 26 Mar 2026

The Taylor Inquiry was established on 1 May 1989 following the Hillsborough disaster of 15 April 1989, in which 97 people died in a crush at the FA Cup semi-final at Sheffield Wednesday's ground. Lord Justice Taylor published an interim report in August 1989 and a final report on 29 January 1990 containing 119 recommendations.

The inquiry's central recommendation requiring all-seater stadiums for top-division football was enacted through amendments to the Football Spectators Act 1989. The Football Licensing Authority reported that by the August 1994 deadline, all Premier League and First Division grounds had converted to all-seater configuration. The inquiry also recommended the removal of perimeter fencing, introduction of CCTV systems, and new safety certification procedures based on detailed assessments.

The Football Licensing Authority (now the Sports Grounds Safety Authority) was established in 1990 to oversee ground safety. Its August 1994 review confirmed conversion to all-seater stadiums and noted ongoing compliance monitoring through annual inspection programmes.

While the inquiry's safety recommendations transformed football ground infrastructure, its findings on police failures did not result in accountability at the time. The Hillsborough Independent Panel (2012) found that the full extent of the cover-up was not established until decades after the disaster. The 2016 inquests concluded that the 96 victims (later 97) were unlawfully killed, formally overturning earlier verdicts. The transformation of English football grounds following Taylor is frequently cited as one of the most visible outcomes of any UK public inquiry.

Reports & milestones

Reports

29 Jan 1990 43 tracked recs Taylor Inquiry — Interim Report · Tracked recommendations · PDF

29 Jan 1990 76 tracked recs Taylor Inquiry — Final Report · Tracked recommendations · PDF

Timeline

No milestones recorded.

Recommendations

43 shown (filtered)

Code	Recommendation
TAYL-I1	Safety Certificates must specify maximum spectator numbers for self-contained p… Where a viewing terrace is divided into pens or areas which are self-contained, the Safety Certificate should specify the maximum number of …	View →
TAYL-I2	Revise Green Guide capacity assessment with realistic factors and 15% safety ma… Each figure for maximum capacity should be assessed in accordance with Chapter 16 of the Green Guide ("the Green Guide figure") subject …	View →
TAYL-I3	Limit spectator numbers in pens and close access at maximum capacity Arrangements should be made:- (a) to limit the number of spectators entering each self-contained pen or area to the maximum capacity figure …	View →
TAYL-I4	Mandate written agreements between clubs and police for crowd safety responsibi… There should be a written agreement between the club and the police setting out their respective responsibilities for crowd safety and control …	View →
TAYL-I5	Assign dedicated stewards or police to monitor terraced area crowd conditions At each match, there should be on the perimeter track, for each self-contained pen or other terraced area, a steward (if the …	View →
TAYL-I6	Provide mandatory training for police and stewards on crowd density recognition All police officers and stewards with duties in relation to the terraced areas and especially those with duties under Recommendation 5 above, …	View →
TAYL-I7	Paint and mark all emergency exit gates in perimeter fences clearly All gates in radial or perimeter fences of pens or other self-contained areas should be painted in a different colour from the …	View →
TAYL-I8	Keep all pitch access gates fully open during matches Where there are perimeter fences, all gates to the pitch should be kept fully open during the period when spectators are on …	View →
TAYL-I9	Authorise police officers to manage gate access to relieve overcrowding There should be in respect of each gate in a perimeter fence (or group of gates if they are close together) a …	View →
TAYL-I10	Provide cutting equipment for perimeter fences, train users, senior police deci… Suitable and sufficient cutting equipment should be provided by the club at each ground where there are perimeter fences to permit the …	View →
TAYL-I11	Immediately inspect all crush barriers for corrosion; repair or replace as need… All crush barriers should be visually inspected immediately for signs of corrosion. Any barrier found to be affected by a significant degree …	View →
TAYL-I12	Immediately review barrier layout for Green Guide compliance and adjust capacity The layout of barriers in each pen or terraced area should be reviewed immediately to ensure that it complies with the criteria …	View →
TAYL-I13	Local authority to immediately review Safety Certificates with stakeholders and… There should be an immediate review of each Safety Certificate by the responsible local authority, which should consult the club in respect …	View →
TAYL-I14	Local authorities must immediately issue Safety Certificates for designated sta… Any local authority within whose area there exists a sports stadium designated under the 1975 Act for which no Safety Certificate has …	View →
TAYL-I15	Local authorities must annually review and renew all Safety Certificates Every Safety Certificate should be reviewed by the local authority at least once annually and each Certificate should require to be renewed …	View →
TAYL-I16	Local authorities must review Safety Certificate arrangements and administrativ… Each local authority should review its arrangements for issuing, monitoring, enforcing, reviewing, amending and renewing Safety Certificates. Such review should require that …	View →
TAYL-I17	Local authorities should establish Advisory Groups for crowd safety with stakeh… To assist the local authority in exercising its functions, it should set up an Advisory Group consisting of appropriate members of its …	View →
TAYL-I18	Inspect turnstiles, measure flow rate, and conduct regular maintenance checks Each turnstile should be inspected and its potential rate of flow measured. Thereafter, regular inspections should be made to ensure that each …	View →
TAYL-I19	Ensure turnstiles admit spectators to viewing areas within one hour The correlation between each viewing area in the stadium and the turnstiles serving it should be such as to ensure that all …	View →
TAYL-I20	Implement turnstile closure when capacity is reached, ensuring quick communicat… Turnstiles should be closed when the permitted capacity of the area served by them is about to be reached and arrangements should …	View →
TAYL-I21	Install CCTV to monitor crowd densities outside and inside the ground Closed circuit television should be so installed as to enable crowd densities outside the ground, within concourse areas and in pens and …	View →
TAYL-I22	Comprehensively review and improve spectator signposting for clear, rapid movem… All signposting for spectators both outside and inside the ground should be comprehensively reviewed. It should, in relation to the arrangements for …	View →
TAYL-I23	Ensure clear, consistent ticket information, including guidance on retained stu… Information on tickets should be unambiguous, simple and clear and should correlate absolutely with the information provided in respect of each match …	View →
TAYL-I24	Clubs and police review ticket timing for planned spectator admission arrangeme… Information on tickets requesting spectators to be in position by a particular time should be reviewed by clubs in conjunction with the …	View →
TAYL-I25	Clubs consult supporters on pre-match entertainment to encourage early spectato… Each club should consult with a recognised supporters' club as to the provision of pre-match entertainment aimed at attracting spectators to the …	View →
TAYL-I26	Chief Constables nominate chief officers to liaise on stadium crowd safety The Chief Constable of each police force in whose area there is one designated stadium or more should nominate a chief officer …	View →
TAYL-I27	Brief officers on preventing and remedying overcrowding through operational ord… The Operational Order for each match at a designated stadium and the pre-match briefing of all officers on duty there should alert …	View →
TAYL-I28	Operational orders must ensure police cope with crowd movement and deploy reser… The Operational Order for each match at a designated stadium should enable the police to cope with any foreseeable pattern in the …	View →
TAYL-I29	Officer in command may postpone kick-off, prioritising paramount crowd safety The option to postpone kick-off should be in the discretion of the officer in command at the ground. Crowd safety should be …	View →
TAYL-I30	Equip control room with CCTV and counting data; train officers to interpret There should be available in the police control room the results of all closed circuit television monitoring outside and inside the ground …	View →
TAYL-I31	Ensure sufficient, prioritised radio operators and soundproof police control ro… There should be sufficient operators in the police control room to enable all radio transmissions to be received, evaluated and answered. The …	View →
TAYL-I32	Establish separate landline telephone links between control room and key points To complement radio communications, there should be a completely separate system of land lines with telephone links between the control room and …	View →
TAYL-I33	Implement public address system with loud signal for effective crowd communicat… Within the control room, there should be a public address system to communicate with individual areas outside and inside the ground, with …	View →
TAYL-I34	Utilise illuminated boards and police hand signals for crowd communication Use should be made where possible of illuminated advertising boards to address the crowd. Consideration should also be given to the use …	View →
TAYL-I35	Emergency services maintain regular liaison on stadium crowd safety The police, fire and ambulance services should maintain through senior nominated officers regular liaison concerning crowd safety at each stadium.	View →
TAYL-I36	Police provide emergency services with full match details for planning Before each match at a designated stadium, the police should ensure that the fire service and ambulance service are given full details …	View →
TAYL-I37	Review emergency vehicle contingency plans, including access and rendezvous poi… Contingency plans for the arrival at each designated stadium of emergency vehicles from all three services should be reviewed. They should include …	View →
TAYL-I38	Brief entrance police officers on emergency service contingency plans and deplo… Police officers posted at the entrances to the ground should be briefed as to the contingency plans for the arrival of emergency …	View →
TAYL-I39	Require clubs to provide one trained first aider per 1,000 spectators There should be at each stadium at each match at least one trained first aider per 1,000 spectators. The club should have …	View →
TAYL-I40	Local authorities to specify first aid rooms and equipment for stadium safety c… There should be at each stadium one or more first aid rooms. The number of such rooms and the equipment to be …	View →
TAYL-I41	Require clubs to employ trained medical practitioners at all matches The club should employ a medical practitioner to be present at each match and available to deal with any medical exigency at …	View →
TAYL-I42	Mandate one fully equipped ambulance at matches with over 5,000 spectators At least one fully equipped ambulance from the appropriate ambulance authority should be in attendance at all matches with an expected crowd …	View →
TAYL-I43	Local authorities to specify ambulance numbers for large crowd matches The number of ambulances to be in attendance for matches where larger crowds are expected should be specified by the local authority …	View →

Parliamentary activity

32 mentions since Jun 2016

15 Dec 2025 Early Day Motion Elizabeth (Betty) Caddy
Adam Jogee (Labour)

25 Apr 2025 Early Day Motion Tartan Talkers
Richard Baker (Labour)

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Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat)

13 Feb 2025 Early Day Motion Centenary of Murrayfield Stadium
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)

17 Jan 2025 Early Day Motion British companies and the transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas
Chris Law (Scottish National Party)

View all 32 mentions →