Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Department has not made an assessment of the additional cost of requiring the Human Tissue Authority to regulate the care of the deceased throughout the death pathway, including in funeral homes.

The Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased. In this context, an interim update on progress with our response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report was published 16 December 2025, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-inquiry-government-interim-update-on-phase-2-recommendations

We will provide a full response by summer 2026.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

The Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased, particularly in the context of a full response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report which will be provided by summer 2026.

Our consideration has included discussions about a potential role for a relevant partner organisation such as the Human Tissue Authority.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

The Government recognises the urgency of concerns about the funeral sector and is committed to responding at pace to ensure that the highest standards are always upheld by funeral directors and others involved in the care of people that have died.

To that end, the Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased. In this context, an interim update on progress with our response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report was published by the Department for Health and Social Care on 16 December 2025 (Fuller inquiry: government interim update on phase 2 recommendations - GOV.UK), and we will provide a full response by summer 2026.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Government will publish a full response to the Inquiry’s recommendations in summer 2026, setting out progress and next steps on the 75 recommendations, including the 11 specified.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

The Government recognises the urgency of concerns about the funeral sector and is committed to responding at pace to ensure that the highest standards are always upheld by funeral directors and others involved in the care of people that have died.

To that end, the Government is considering the full range of options to strengthen and improve standards to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased. In this context, an interim update on progress with our response to the Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 report was published by the Department for Health and Social Care on 16 December 2025 (Fuller inquiry: government interim update on phase 2 recommendations - GOV.UK), and we will provide a full response by summer 2026.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

On 16 December 2025, the Government published an Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fuller-inquiry-government-interim-update-on-phase-2-recommendations

The interim update set out the solid progress that has been made in taking forward recommendations. Of the 75 recommendations: 11 have been accepted in full; 43 accepted in principle; and 21 remain under consideration. Full details of the status of all recommendations are contained in the published update.

The Government will publish a full response to the inquiry’s recommendations in summer 2026.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

I am today updating the House on the Government’s progress in responding to the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into the serious issues raised by the appalling actions of David Fuller, including an accompanying interim update published alongside this statement.

The final report of the Fuller Inquiry, published on 15 July 2025, set out seventy-five recommendations to strengthen the security and dignity of people after death across a wide range of settings. The Inquiry’s findings were clear: current arrangements for the care of the deceased are partial, piecemeal, and not universally mandated. A dedicated cross-Government Programme Board was established in July and has met fortnightly since.

At this interim stage solid progress has been made on fifty-four of the Inquiry recommendations.

Eleven are accepted in full and work is already in progress to implement these recommendations (22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30,31, 32, 33, 34 & 75) covering standards, data and operating procedures in the wider health sector. Implementation highlights include: the publication by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) on 1st December of updated guidance to ensure adverse incidents in the anatomy sector are recorded (recommendation 26) with incidents already being reported; agreement by NHS England that data collection on the conveyancing of deceased patients will be rolled out in 2026/27 for the first time (recommendation 31). Further details are included in the interim update publication here.

Forty-three of the Inquiry’s recommendations relating to both NHS and Local Authority mortuaries require further work before they can be implemented. Those include nine recommendations (1-9) for the NHS estate, and NHS England continue to assess the recommendations and are working with NHS Trusts to develop actions at Trust Board level. A further twelve of the Inquiry’s recommendations (10-21) relate to governance, accountability and safeguarding in NHS Trusts. Analysis of the logistics and costings of these recommendations is currently being carried out by NHS England. Recommendations 35-56 relate to Local Authority Mortuaries, which include twenty-one HTA licensed mortuaries. MHCLG sought views via the Local Government Association (LGA) on the state of the estate, and there is an LGA led roundtable meeting in January. The LGA and HTA are also working together to assess how LA mortuaries current practices compare with the Inquiry’s recommendations, and existing HTA standards in the Post-Mortem sector. The HTA has reviewed these recommendations against their own standards and conclude that seven are fully covered by existing HTA standards, and has shared this analysis with the LGA.

There are a further twenty-one recommendations still under consideration. Seven of these are miscellaneous recommendations (24,25,67,68,69,70&73), and three are for LAs who contract with third party providers (57,58 & 59). A roundtable was held in November regarding the role of faith organisations (67 and 68) in the care for the deceased in these settings. Outputs of the roundtable will inform the response to these two recommendations. In addition, the Chief Coroner has notified all coroners of the inquiry’s conclusions, in response to recommendation 70.

No decisions have been made regarding the eleven Recommendations (29,60,61,62,63,64,65,66,69,71,72) relating to wider regulation in all settings that care for people after death. We are working closely with the NHS, Local Authorities, the Human Tissue Authority, the Care Quality Commission, and other partners to explore how we can ensure that robust and consistent standards are in place across all settings. This includes reviewing mortuary access controls, oversight arrangements, contractor vetting, and requirements for training and reporting.

The Government is committed to transparency and accountability as this work progresses. This update demonstrates that work is actively underway to consider and respond to the Inquiry’s recommendations, with action already being taken towards implementing fifty-four of seventy-five recommendations. Full details of the status of all recommendations are contained in the published update. A full response to the Inquiry’s recommendations will be published in Summer 2026.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

In July 2025 the Fuller Inquiry’s phase 2 final report was published, which looked at the wider national lessons for hospital and non-hospital settings where the deceased are cared for. It examined whether procedures and practices safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased across the range of settings and made 75 recommendations in total.

This final report recommended the introduction of a statutory regulatory regime for those caring for the deceased. The Department will publish an interim update in winter 2025 and a final response by summer 2026. This will include updates on recommendations for the funeral sector and standards to protect the security and dignity of the deceased in all settings.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits unfair commercial practices. These include misleading actions and omissions, that are likely to impact the average consumer’s transactional decisions. Traders who engage in commercial practices that are misleading omissions, or misleading actions, may be committing a criminal offence.

In July 2025, the final report of the independent inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case recommended the introduction of a statutory regulatory regime for those caring for the deceased. The Department will publish an interim update on progress in winter 2025 and a final response by summer 2026. This will include updates on the recommendations for the funeral sector which set out that direct cremation businesses should also be considered in this context, and mandatory standards to protect the security and dignity of the deceased should be applied to these businesses and to any emerging new models of delivery of care for the deceased.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Today, the independent inquiry into the issues raised by the actions of David Fuller has published its Phase 2 and final report. It focuses on whether procedures and practices in hospital and non-hospital settings sufficiently safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased and would prevent a recurrence of the issues identified by the inquiry, as well as considering the role of regulation.

I wish to pass my thanks on to any individual or organisation who has provided evidence to this important independent inquiry. I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and assure them that we are committed to learning from these events.

In 2023, the independent Inquiry, chaired by Sir Jonathon Michael, published its Phase 1 report, which set out how Fuller was able to commit such shocking crimes, undetected for so long at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. The Trust set out its progress implementing all the Inquiry’s recommendations via an assurance statement in February 2024.

A Phase 2 interim report was published in October 2024. The Inquiry’s chair expedited the Inquiry’s work on the funeral sector in light of reports of cases of neglect. The interim report presented preliminary findings and recommendations on the funeral sector in England. the Government committed to responding to these recommendations as part of the final phase two Government response.

The overall conclusion of today’s final report is that current arrangements for the care of people after death are partial, ineffective and in some areas, completely lacking. The overarching recommendation for Government is that there should be statutory regulation to protect the security and dignity of people after death, regardless of the setting or institution.

Today’s report makes 75 detailed recommendations in total, including 19 for Trusts and 25 for Local Authorities focusing on access, dignity, security and wider processes and procedures to protect deceased individuals. A smaller number of recommendations (31) focus on independent hospitals, medical education, hospices, Ambulance services, care homes, the funeral sector and faith organisations, making specific recommendations to improve the care of the deceased. This includes recommendations for UK Government to establish an independent statutory regulatory regime for the funeral sector.

Every deceased individual deserves to receive the highest standard of care and dignity. The Government will work to ensure this is the case, across all settings, be that in the NHS or other settings including Local Authority mortuaries, hospices, ambulance services, care homes, funeral homes, and faith organisations.

The Government recognises the urgency of the concerns raised by the Inquiry’s recommendations and will respond at pace. This will include an interim update on progress this year and a final response by Summer 2026.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

Funeral directors have a profound responsibility to treat those who have died with the utmost dignity and respect and the majority of funeral directors conduct themselves in accordance with the high standards expected of them. However, the Government recognises that there are some significant concerns about certain practices within the funeral sector, as evidenced by the incident in Hull.

This is a complex and sensitive matter that demands careful consideration to ensure a response that effectively safeguards the public. It is crucial to protect the rights and dignity of those who have died and their grieving families, while implementing measures that are proportionate.

For that reason, the Government is thoroughly evaluating all potential next steps to ensure that the high standards upheld by many within the funeral director sector are consistently reflected throughout the entire industry. This includes the possibility of introducing suitable and proportionate regulation for funeral directors. Further updates on the next steps will be provided in due course and the Government will respond to the Fuller Inquiry when its part two report is published.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

On 28 November 2023, the report of Phase 1 of the Fuller Independent Inquiry was published. Phase 1 of the Inquiry looked into how David Fuller’s appalling crimes in the mortuaries at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust remained undetected for so long.

I wish to express my deepest sympathies to the victims’ families and reassure them that lessons will be learnt.

The Inquiry found highly concerning failings in the Trust’s running, management, and oversight of the mortuaries, and that it was due to this uncontrolled environment that David Fuller was able to offend undetected. Management, governance and regulation failures, alongside poor compliance to standard policies and procedures, and a persistent lack of curiosity, all contributed to the creation of the environment in which David Fuller was able to offend for 15 years without ever being suspected or caught.

The 17 recommendations - 16 for the Trust and the remaining one for Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council - made by the Inquiry in Phase 1 aim to prevent anything similar happening again at the Trust.

Today I am updating the House on the response to those recommendations. The Trust published an assurance statement in February 2024 on the implementation of the recommendations from the Phase 1 report. This sets out the progress made to implement the Inquiry’s recommendations.

The range of actions taken by the Trust include requiring that non-mortuary staff and contractors are always accompanied by another staff member when visiting the mortuaries; controlling access to mortuaries using swipe cards; mandating contractors to renew security clearances every three years; and installing CCTV coverage monitoring access to and from mortuary areas. The Trust Board is also providing greater oversight and assurance of legally regulated activity in the mortuary.

I am also reassured that NHS England’s South East regional team held monthly oversight meetings with the Trust between November 2023 and April 2024 (in partnership with Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board) to ensure progress against the Inquiry’s recommendations and to review evidence of the Trust’s progress in delivering their action plan. Ongoing compliance with the Inquiry's recommendations will be monitored by NHS England through regular regional oversight meetings with the Trust, and through other channels as appropriate.

Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council have reviewed contractual arrangements with the Trust and confirmed that the contracts include terms requiring that licensing and regulatory requirements are met to ensure the deceased are at all times treated with dignity and respect.

Phase 2 of the Independent Inquiry will consider whether procedures and practices in hospital and non-hospital settings, where deceased people are kept, are sufficient to safeguard the security and dignity of the deceased.

In light of the disturbing events in Hull earlier this year, which brought into sharp focus the lack of regulation and oversight in the funeral sector, we have agreed that the Inquiry will today publish an interim report on the findings from their funeral sector module. This will provide recommendations on safeguarding the security and dignity of the deceased in that sector.

The Government is committed to preventing any similar atrocities happening again and ensuring that the deceased are safeguarded and treated with dignity.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Today the report of the independent inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case has been published. Sir Jonathan Michael has updated the victims’ families earlier today.

This report follows two years of work by the independent inquiry, led by Sir Jonathan, investigating David Fuller’s shocking and depraved actions in the mortuaries of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

I am very grateful to all those who provided evidence to the independent inquiry, especially the families who found the courage to share their experience of what happened to their loved ones.

The report makes for harrowing reading. It sheds a light on the circumstances surrounding David Fuller’s abuse which regrettably meant that his crimes went undetected for a long period of time.

I want to profoundly apologise on behalf of the Government and the NHS and commit that lessons will be learnt. We fully welcome the report, and will ensure that there is a full response to the recommendations in Spring 2024, and that lessons are learned across the wider NHS so that no family has to go through this experience again.

A lot of work has already been done to review mortuary safety since these crimes were first revealed. NHS England required all NHS Trusts with either a mortuary or body store to review practices and ensure they are compliant with the requirements set out in the Human Tissue Authority’s standards and guidance. NHS Trusts were asked to take action to ensure all access points to mortuaries or body stores are controlled by swipe card security access, ensure there is effective CCTV coverage monitoring access to and from mortuary areas, undertake risk assessments of mortuary security and ensure consistent application of appropriate levels of DBS checks for all Trust and contracted employees.

However, we should not be complacent. It is important that the whole system remains alert and accountable at all levels and that any concerns are swiftly identified and escalated through the appropriate governance processes.

The report will be published on gov.uk and is available in the Vote Office (HC 310).

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

I wish to inform the House of the Government’s full response to the report of the independent review into the maternity and neonatal services at East Kent University NHS Foundation Trust, which will be published today on GOV.UK.

NHS England commissioned Dr Bill Kirkup CBE in February 2022 to undertake this review following concerns about the quality and outcomes of care. This inquiry was published in October 2022 with five recommendations for the healthcare system.

I want to once again express my thanks for the role the families have played in this review. I remain deeply sorry for the harm and pain that has been a result of the failings of the Trust to provide safe care and treatment.

The Government informed the House of its interim response on 7 March 2023 and the fuller response published today sets out in detail how each recommendation is being implemented. This response has been informed by extensive engagement with stakeholders from across the healthcare system and voluntary sector as well as by the insight and views from those families I met with in June, for which I am grateful.

Whilst the issues set out by Dr Kirkup were a result of an investigation into one Trust, many will resonate across the wider system. That is why our response sets out the existing work that is already underway to drive forward system wide improvements, such as the implementation of the Three Year Delivery Plan that was published in March 2023 by NHS England. This Plan is clear on how maternity and neonatal care will be made safer, more personalised, and more equitable for women, babies, and families. It will be an important supporting role in the implementation of the East Kent recommendations, and we recognise there is more that we can do.

Today, I want to draw the attention of the House to the key new action we are taking that will create the conditions needed for the improvements to be successful and sustainable.

I will chair the new National Oversight Group to bring together the key people from the NHS and other organisations to look across maternity and neonatal improvement programmes and the implementation of recommendations from this and other maternity reviews. At a local level in East Kent, I will convene a local forum bringing together the NHS, Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Members of Parliament whose constituents have been affected to share information and updates. I am also pleased to announce that Dr Bill Kirkup has been appointed to support Government action in relation to recommendations 2 and 3.

It is with a firm determination that we must learn the lessons from this inquiry, as well as those before it, to implement meaningful change to prevent further inquiries into failings in maternity and neonatal services across England being needed.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

On 8 November 2021, the Government announced an independent inquiry to examine the circumstances surrounding the offences committed by David Fuller in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and the national implications of his offending.

Following my statement on 1 December 2022, when I announced the establishment of the compensation scheme to facilitate compensation payments to the family members of David Fuller’s victims, I also updated Parliament on the timescales of the inquiry. I advised that the report on matters relating to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust was planned for the first half of 2023.

I now wish to update Parliament that earlier this year, the inquiry was provided with information that had been passed on to the Police in line with its terms of reference.

The Police have now completed their enquiries regarding the new information provided to them and have found no evidence of any further criminal offences.

The inquiry will now need to investigate the information received by the Police and expects that a report before the autumn will not be possible.

This delay is necessary to allow time for a thorough investigation of the information received and consideration of its impact on the inquiry.

The inquiry has notified families of David Fuller’s victims of the results of the assessment by the Police and the change in timescales. I will continue to keep Parliament updated with any substantial developments.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

The Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case is continuing to carefully consider evidence. The Report into the first phase of the Inquiry on local matters concerning Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is planned in 2023. A final report containing recommendations relating to the broader national picture and wider lessons for the National Health Service and for other settings is expected to follow in 2024.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Following my statement on 16 December 2021, I am pleased to inform the House that a compensation scheme to facilitate compensation payments to the family members of David Fuller’s victims has been established today.

The scheme, which will be administered by NHS Resolution on behalf of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, will ensure that compensation is paid to relatives as soon as practicable. The scheme will operate on a tiered approach. All qualifying family members will receive a fixed amount of compensation. Increased payments will then be made for psychiatric trauma and/or financial loss, subject to evidence. Entry into the scheme is entirely voluntary and the scheme will be advertised nationally to help ensure all eligible family members are aware of it.

The scheme represents a highly co-operative effort between NHS Resolution, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and the families’ representatives and I would like to thank all those involved for their work in developing this compensation scheme for families.

I would also like to take the opportunity to update the House on the timescales of the inquiry. The inquiry is progressing well and due to the significant amount of evidence being received, the report on matters relating to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust is now planned for the first half of 2023.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Following earlier statements by Department of Health and Social Care Ministers, I would like to inform the House that the Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case has today published a progress update on its work to date. This can be found at: https://fuller.independent-inquiry.uk/announcements/

The progress update sets out the transition from a local, independent investigation initiated by the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to the current Independent Inquiry that the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced in November of last year. It describes how the work already undertaken as part of the independent investigation is feeding into the inquiry; as well as the important common themes that emerged from families / other interested parties which gave rise to amendments to the inquiry’s Terms of Reference. The Independent Inquiry published its final Terms of Reference on 23 February 2022.

Although the local investigation was constrained from taking evidence while the criminal prosecution of David Fuller was underway, Sir Jonathan Michael does set out some urgent, high-level themes and areas of concern arising from the investigation at the time in his progress update:

Responsibilities between NHS Trusts and contractors / subcontractors.

Security and access.

Policies and procedures versus practice.

Oversight of regulated activities.

Management of areas and services not covered by regulation.

These themes had been shared with the Trust in August 2021 and subsequently with NHS England and NHS Improvement. The Trust has been putting its own steps in place regarding its mortuary practices ahead of the substantive, initial report of the Inquiry. NHS England and NHS Improvement has continued to work with Trusts to provide assurances against current guidance from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), and on the additional measures that have been taken to improve the effectiveness of security in place for all their mortuaries and post-mortem activities.

The progress update makes clear that the first phase of the Independent Inquiry is firmly underway and describes the rapid progress that it has so far achieved. Also, from the inquiry’s engagement with witnesses so far, it has experienced a high degree of co-operation and expects this to continue. Both are testament to the hard work of Sir Jonathan and his team.

The progress update also sets out the next steps, including a revised timing for the initial report on matters relating to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Due to the volume of evidence that is emerging, the initial report will now be available later this year. This will be followed by a final report next year, looking at the broader national picture and the wider lessons for the NHS and for other settings. Whilst there is real urgency in understanding how Fuller was able to carry out his shocking and unlawful actions, and why these went unnoticed, the Inquiry must be allowed the time it needs to fully consider all of the relevant evidence and assemble its findings. The Inquiry continues to liaise with Kent Police to ensure that if it identifies possible criminal conduct, this is referred swiftly for further investigation, in line with its Terms of Reference.

The HTA was asked by the Secretary of State to provide advice on its regulatory framework following the conclusion of the murder trial of David Fuller and the public revelation of his sexual offending against bodies in a hospital mortuary at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

The HTA advice, received in December 2021, along with a short progress update, has been published today. Both can be found at https://www.hta.gov.uk/news/december-2021-advice-published

The HTA has focused on three areas since December 2021; preparation for the Inquiry, working with stakeholders on licensed mortuary security, and starting the revision of HTA guidance for licensed mortuaries in the post-mortem sector, with implementation planned later this year.

Further details will be available on GOV.UK via the following link which will ‘go live’ from noon today.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-fuller-inquiry-update-to-the-secretary-of-state-19-may-2022

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

It is normal practice, when a government department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister concerned to present a Departmental Minute to Parliament giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the liability until fourteen sitting days after the issue of the Minute, except in cases of special urgency.

I have today laid a Departmental Minute proposing to provide an indemnity that is required urgently in respect of a Department of Health and Social Care established non-statutory, independent inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the offences committed by David Fuller (‘DF’) at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, and their national implications.

The Inquiry will be split into two phases:

an initial report, on matters relating to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, reporting by the middle of 2022, and

a final report, looking at the broader national picture and the wider lessons for the NHS and for other settings, reporting by the middle of 2023.

It will review DF’s unlawful actions, how he was able to carry these out, why his actions went apparently unnoticed, and will make recommendations with the aim of preventing anything similar happening again. We expect the Inquiry to publish a progress update as soon as possible after Easter recess.

In November 2021, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced the Inquiry (Volume 703, 8 November 2021) to be chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael. The Department of Health and Social Care will indemnify the Inquiry insofar that the Chair or any other member of the Inquiry who has acted honestly and in good faith will not have to meet out of his or her personal resources any personal civil liability, including costs, which is incurred in the execution or the purported execution of his or her Inquiry functions, save where the Inquiry member has acted recklessly. This indemnity will cover the entire duration of the Inquiry’s work, from November 2021 until when the Inquiry submits its final report, expected in 2023, and for an unlimited period after that date. However, we believe there is a low risk of the indemnity being called upon beyond five years of the Inquiry having reported. There will be no cap placed upon the indemnity, so the maximum exposure is strictly unlimited. However, any losses are not expected to exceed a value of £3 million based upon the best estimate currently available at this stage of the Inquiry’s work. If the liability is called, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal Supply procedure.

The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle which mirrors the standard indemnity for board members described in Managing Public Money. If, during the period of fourteen Parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which this Minute was laid before Parliament, a member signifies an objection by giving notice of a Parliamentary Question or by otherwise raising the matter in Parliament, final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will be withheld pending an examination of the objection. The indemnity is expected to come into force on 26 April 2022, subject to the approval of Parliament on this basis.

Copies of the Departmental Minute have been laid in both Houses.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Following my statement on 16 December 2021 I wish to update the House about the independent Inquiry which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the offences committed by David Fuller at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. The Inquiry will help us understand how these offences took place without detection, identify any areas where swift action is necessary and consider wider national issues, including for the NHS.

Sir Jonathan Michael, who chairs the independent Inquiry, developed draft terms of reference in January 2022 which set out the scope of the Inquiry. He has since sought the views of affected families on the draft terms of reference.

The Inquiry has today, 23 February 2022 published its final Terms of Reference which can be found at https://fuller.independent-inquiry.uk/terms-of-reference/. I have placed a copy of the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference in the Libraries of both Houses.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

The government is reviewing the statutory maximum penalty available for the offence of sexual penetration of a corpse under section 70 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This review is taking place alongside the independent inquiry into the events surrounding David Fuller’s horrific offending in hospitals in Kent. That inquiry is due to publish interim findings shortly, with a final report published at a later date. Our review of available maximum penalties is likely to follow similar timescales, to ensure findings from the wider inquiry can be taken into account.

The current statutory maximum penalty is for one offence; where more than one offence is sentenced at the same time, each offence will be sentenced individually and the overall sentence passed will reflect the totality of offending behaviour, which may mean sentences being served consecutively. Our review of the statutory maximum penalty is considering instances of the commission of multiple, as well as single, offences.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

The government is reviewing the statutory maximum penalty available for the offence of sexual penetration of a corpse under section 70 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. This review is taking place alongside the independent inquiry into the events surrounding David Fuller’s horrific offending in hospitals in Kent. That inquiry is due to publish interim findings shortly, with a final report published at a later date. Our review of available maximum penalties is likely to follow similar timescales, to ensure findings from the wider inquiry can be taken into account.

The current statutory maximum penalty is for one offence; where more than one offence is sentenced at the same time, each offence will be sentenced individually and the overall sentence passed will reflect the totality of offending behaviour, which may mean sentences being served consecutively. Our review of the statutory maximum penalty is considering instances of the commission of multiple, as well as single, offences.

Answering body: Department of Health and Social Care

Yesterday, David Fuller was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court for the murders of Wendy Knell and Caroline Pierce, as well as over 100 sexual offences in a mortuary, and several other sexual offences.

This is a profoundly distressing case and I would like to reiterate my apologies to the friends and families of all of David Fuller’s victims. While nothing can undo the damage that has been done, he has been brought to justice for his crimes.

I would like to provide an update on the steps we are taking to ensure something like this never happens again.

Firstly, all NHS Trusts have undertaken risk assessments on their mortuary and body store facilities and assured their practices against existing Human Tissue Authority guidance. NHS England and Improvement is working with all trusts to ensure that the additional steps already requested are in place early in the New Year, if they have not already been delivered.

Secondly, we have made good progress in establishing the independent inquiry chaired by Sir Jonathan Michael to look into the circumstances surrounding the offences committed at the hospital. It will help us understand how these offences took place without detection, identify any areas where swift action is necessary and consider wider national issues, including for the NHS. Sir Jonathan has developed draft terms of reference and will seek views on these from families who have been affected in the new year before they are published.

Next, Ministers have received initial advice from the Human Tissue Authority and they will be reviewing this carefully.

Finally, families have quite understandably approached the Trust seeking compensation. I have asked NHS Resolution to work with the Trust and engage on plans for providing settlements. More details will be set out on this soon.

Answering body: Ministry of Justice

On 8 November, the Government announced an Inquiry into the offences committed by David Fuller in Tunbridge Wells, and that we would be reviewing the existing penalty available for the offence of sexual penetration of a corpse. These reviews may highlight issues relating to the coverage of the existing offences that deal with desecration, and we will consider any changes to the law in light of their findings.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Prime Minister will set out the Government's initial response when the report is published. The Prime Minister will also set out what further steps the Government will take to allow for fuller consideration of and response to the report.