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P1-12

Local authorities examine contractual arrangements

Fuller Inquiry · Fuller Inquiry Phase 1 Report · Issued 28 November 2023 · Addressed to: Kent County Council

Government responseDepartment of Health and Social Care: Noted (Oct 2024)Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust: Noted (Feb 2024)

DeliveryNo statement from Kent County Council found

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council should examine their contractual arrangements with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust to ensure that they are effective in protecting the safety and dignity of the deceased.

Fuller Inquiry, Fuller Inquiry Phase 1 Report · 28 Nov 2023 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

In October 2024, Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, reported that Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council had reviewed contractual arrangements with Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and confirmed that the contracts require licensing and regulatory standards to be met to ensure the deceased are treated with dignity and respect (Wes Streeting response, Oct 2024). Earlier, in February 2024, the Trust stated that contract discussions were underway to ensure arrangements protect the deceased, including a requirement to share inspection reports from the Human Tissue Authority (Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust response, Feb 2024). The record holds no update since the Department of Health and Social Care's response of October 2024 (Wes Streeting response, Oct 2024).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

Government response

●Department of Health and Social Care · Noted · 15 Oct 2024

Words of: Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, written statement to the House of Commons, 15 October 2024 (HCWS132)

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.

Extract from: Response to the Phase 1 report of the Fuller Inquiry

Site note: Written statement HCWS132, made on 15 October 2024 by Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. It reports what the Trust and the two county councils had done, and neither accepts nor rejects any recommendation, so the rows are marked noted. The Phase 1 recommendations are addressed to Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (16) and to Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council (recommendation 12).

Site note: The statement gives this paragraph on the two councils once; it is its only passage on recommendation 12.

●Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust · Noted · 23 Feb 2024

Words of: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Assurance statement on the implementation of the Phase 1 Fuller Inquiry recommendations, dated 23 February 2024, Trust Board paper presented by Miles Scott, Chief Executive, to the meeting of 29 February 2024

This recommendation is for KCC and ESCC. Some useful background follows:

• Separate contracts are in place between the Trust and KCC, and the Trust and ESCC. The Trust’s latest contract with KCC covered the period 01/04/19 to 31/03/23. The contract was not officially extended beyond that date, but contract discussions commenced in April 2023, and the finalisation of the 2023/24 contract is almost complete.

• The Trust’s current contract with ESCC covers the period 01/01/23 to 31/12/25, with the option for two further extensions of one year, if agreed (i.e. to 31/12/26 and 31/12/27).

• Discussions have been taking place to ensure that contracts are effective in protecting the safety and dignity of the deceased, including a requirement for the Trust to provide copies of HTA reports following inspections.

Response document: Assurance statement on the implementation of the recommendations from the Phase 1 report of the Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by the David Fuller case (agenda item 02-5, Trust Board meeting book, February 2024)

Site note: Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust's "Assurance statement on the implementation of the recommendations from the Phase 1 report", agenda item 02-5 of its Trust Board meeting of 29 February 2024 (pages 15 to 26 of the meeting book, read from the Internet Archive). The statement is dated 23 February 2024 at its foot, and the rows carry that date. The words are the Trust's.

Site note: Recommendation 12 is addressed to Kent County Council and East Sussex County Council. This passage is the Trust's own background note on it ("This recommendation is for KCC and ESCC"), so it is filed under the Trust and states no position on the recommendation.

Delivery

No statement on delivery from Kent County Council has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.