Central government is considering giving public authorities six months from Royal Assent to comply with the Code of Ethical Conduct requirements in the Public Office (Accountability) Bill (known as Hillsborough Law). The current expectation is currently at Committee Stage, following the Second Reading in the House of Lords. Royal Assent could be late 2026/early 2027, potentially requiring compliance by around May 2027/June.
It does not appear that Government is currently identifying specific implementation failures. Instead, it is asking public authorities to flag any significant barriers that would make the proposed six-month timetable unrealistic.
What will public authorities need to do?
Authorities will be required to:
adopt and publish a Code of Ethical Conduct;
ensure staff understand the code and the consequences of non-compliance; and
ensure the code meets the minimum statutory requirements.
Existing employee codes and standards can be used, but it is clear that changes are likely to be required.
The real issue is therefore readiness rather than starting from scratch. Government believes most local authorities already have relevant conduct arrangements, but wants assurance that these can be reviewed, amended, approved, communicated and embedded within six months.
The short implementation period could create particular pressure around governance approvals, training, disciplinary arrangements, whistleblowing procedures and ensuring the new requirements are genuinely embedded rather than treated as a policy update.
Public bodies should consider carrying out an early gap/readiness assessment of existing codes, policies and procedures against the Bill rather than waiting for commencement.
At the heart of this is the wider government objective around sustainable cultural change, so implementation is likely to extend beyond simply rewriting an employee code.
Weightmans can work with you on reviewing current codes and in particular how they will interact with employment/disciplinary issues, governance, whistleblowing, litigation, inquests and inquiries.
