The Public Accountability Bill (the bill) strives to achieve greater access to justice and parity between individuals and public authorities at inquests and inquiries. The bill is born off the back of historical failings by the state to be transparent, resulting in families fighting for years to get answers.
There is no doubt that the bill, once enacted, will rectify many of the problems with the current systems. However, the proposed bill could go further, and we are championing further changes to ensure that public authorities are held fully accountable.
Expanding eligibility for legal aid funding at inquests
The bill aims to provide parity between ‘affected persons’ and public bodies at inquests by enabling them to participate fully and effectively. An 'affected person' is defined in the bill as an individual who is an interested person within section 47(2)(a), (b) or (m) of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, being:
- a spouse, civil partner, partner, parent, child, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, child of a brother or sister, stepfather, stepmother, half-brother or half-sister;
- a personal representative of the deceased; or
- any other person who the senior coroner thinks has a sufficient interest.
This broad definition is welcomed and enables the nuances of a deceased’s family and social relationships to be considered and assessed by the coroner ensuring those genuinely affected can participate in the inquest process and advocate on the deceased’s behalf.
However, when assessing eligibility for legal aid funding, the bill departs from the test of an ‘affected person’ and instead stipulates that funding is only available for a deceased’s family member if:
- they are relatives (full blood, half blood or by marriage or civil partnership),
- they are cohabitants (as defined in Part 4 25 of the Family Law Act 1996), or
- one has parental responsibility for the other.
There will inevitably be situations where the best or only person available to advocate for the deceased will not meet these requirements and therefore be ineligible for legal aid funding. In these circumstances, it is difficult to see how the objectives of the bill, in particular to provide parity, can be achieved.
We suggest that, in order to achieve greater access to justice, legal aid funding should be made available to any individual who meets the definition of an ‘affected person’ as already defined in the bill.
Introducing sanctions for public authorities who fail to comply with PFD reports
A coroner can issue a Prevention of Future Death (PFD) report if they are concerned about the recurrence of a death. A PFD report requires the recipient to provide a written response within 56 days.
There is currently no statutory penalty for late, inadequate, or absent PFD responses. The lack of consequences for non-compliance undermines the preventive purpose of PFD reports and risks leaving known hazards unaddressed, eroding public confidence in the system. This is also something we’re shining a light on in our latest manifesto.
We suggest that the bill is a suitable and proportionate legislative vehicle to introduce graduated sanctions for persistent or serious non-compliance with PFD reports. The bill already contains sanctions for a public authority that fails to comply with the new duty of candour, so introducing similar sanctions for PFD reports is a reasonable and consistent amendment. Further, the introduction of enforceable PFD sanctions aligns fully with the bill’s wider aim of improving accountability in public office.
Such measures would ensure that lessons identified are acted upon promptly and effectively, enhancing both public protection and confidence.
Conclusion
As lawyers with extensive experience representing bereaved families, we celebrate the bill as a significant step in addressing longstanding structural imbalances.
Our proposed amendments build coherently on the existing architecture of the bill and strengthen its purpose of improving access to justice and ensuring greater accountability. They would place those most impacted at the heart of the inquest or inquiry, enhance public safety and sustain confidence in both the coronial system and public authorities.
Victoria Sedgwick, associate, and Jennifer Ellis, senior solicitor, at Bolt Burdon Kemp
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