Leadership Accountability for Safety
Infected Blood Inquiry · Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · Issued 20 May 2024 · Addressed to: UK Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Statutory duty of candour:
Individuals in leadership positions should be required by the terms of their appointment and by secondary legislation to record, consider and respond to any concern about the healthcare being provided, or the way it is being provided, where there reasonably appears to be a risk that a patient might suffer harm, or has done so. Any person in authority to whom such a report is made should be personally accountable for a failure to consider it adequately.
Infected Blood Inquiry, Infected Blood Inquiry Final Report · 20 May 2024 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- No published secondary legislation requiring individuals in NHS leadership positions to record, consider, and respond to concerns about healthcare provision has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
Government acknowledges the importance of this principle but notes implementation complexity and potential employment law implications. Exploring whether professional standards and manager regulation could achieve accountability without unintended consequences.
UK Government · 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.