Inquiries Hillsborough Panel ReportedAwaiting response

Reports & recommendations

9 recommendations, each with the government response on the record. Filter by government response or delivery status.

Title Volume Publication Date Recommendations Links
Hillsborough: The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel - 12 Sep 2012 9
The Report of the Hillsborough Independent Panel Final Report 12 Sep 2012 0

Recommendations (1)

2
Noted

Police records under Public Records Act 1958

Recommendation
The Panel recommends that police force records are brought under legislative control and that police forces are added to Part II of the First Schedule to the Public Records Act 1958, thereby making them subject to the supervision of the …
In brief (written by this site)

The Panel recommended placing police force records under the Public Records Act 1958. In December 2023, HM Government stated that a review concluded against immediately applying the legislation, finding that adherence to the 1958 Act alone would have caused more Hillsborough material to be lost (Home Office response, Dec 2023). It reported that statutory adherence remained "a desirable objective", but accepted recommendations to update police records management standards first (Home Office response, Dec 2023). In July 2023, the College of Policing issued an updated Code of Practice covering corporate records, which the Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire laid before Parliament to ensure wider retention (College of Policing, Jul 2023; UK Parliament, Jul 2023). The record holds nothing dated later than the response of December 2023 (Home Office response, Dec 2023).

Home Office · 01 Dec 2023 Noted
Words of: HM Government (Home Office), A Hillsborough Legacy: the Government's response to Bishop James Jones' report (CP 990), December 2023
6.2.1 In 1989, South Yorkshire Police were not required by law to retain the papers they held relating to Hillsborough. The Government is committed to introducing a requirement for police forces to retain records of historical interest. In response to this point of learning, the Home Office established a working group comprising stakeholders from the Home Office, College of Policing, NPCC, The National Archives (TNA) and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The working group commissioned a review of this point of learning which found that the practice and standards of police records management was inconsistent across policing. 6.2.2 The review …
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Home Office · 29 Jun 2016 Under consideration
Words of: Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office, written answer to question HL647, 29 June 2016
The Government is considering the options for achieving greater transparency and accessibility of police records in England and Wales, including whether to extend the Public Records Act 1958 to include police records. No decision about implementation has been taken at this time, while careful consideration is given to potential administrative and cost burdens.
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Home Office · 31 Oct 2013 Under consideration
Words of: Home Office, news story, Plan to publish historical police records announced, 31 October 2013
Proposals for making historical police records public were announced today by the Home Office following a recommendation by the Hillsborough Independent Panel. A working group will now be set up to consider how records can be made more accessible and transparent. One option would be to add English and Welsh police forces to the Public Records Act 1958, bringing them in line with central government departments.
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Home Office (Primary)
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