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IBI-4a(i) Accepted

Duty of Candour - Northern Ireland

Infected Blood Inquiry · Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · Issued 20 May 2024 · Addressed to: Northern Ireland Executive

Source — verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

Duty of candour:

A statutory duty of candour in healthcare should be introduced in Northern Ireland.

Infected Blood Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · 20 May 2024 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:

- The Northern Ireland Health Minister Mike Nesbitt committed to advance proposals for an organisational duty of candour, and to consider a statutory individual duty of candour, as part of the Health and Social Care Three Year Plan (Government Response to the Infected Blood Inquiry, Cabinet Office, December 2024).
- The Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2024-26 was introduced in the House of Commons on 16 September 2025 and completed public bill committee scrutiny in December 2025. The Bill creates a duty of candour for public authorities and public servants with criminal sanctions (UK Parliament, 2025-2026).
- The Bill's report stage was postponed in January 2026 for further amendments, and remained before the House of Commons as of March 2026 (UK Parliament, January 2026).
- No statutory duty of candour in healthcare specific to Northern Ireland had been enacted as of March 2026.

Response — verbatim from government

●Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive committed to proposing an organisational duty of candour, considering consultation findings and broader Hillsborough Law developments.

Northern Ireland Executive · 14 May 2025 Written response →

Evidence trail — what's actually happened since

  • 19 Jan 2026 · UK Parliament Public Office (Accountability) Bill 2024-26 ("Hillsborough Law") introduced September 2025, passed Commons January 2026, progressing through Lords. Creates statutory duty of candour for public authorities with criminal sanctions. View source → Reasonable Progress
  • 15 Jan 2026 · IBCA Community Update As of 13 January 2026: 3,721 people asked to start claims, 3,546 begun process, 3,074 received offers totalling £2.47bn, 2,861 paid totalling £1.89bn. Third compensation regulations in force 31 December 2025. View source → Good Progress
  • 28 Oct 2025 · IBCA Independent Review IBCA has contacted 2,215 people to begin compensation claims; 1,934 started process. £812m+ paid via Horizon Shortfall Scheme. £11.8bn committed in Autumn Budget. View source → Reasonable Progress

Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.

How this page is built

Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.

This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.