P2-15 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Routine mortuary reporting to trust boards

Recommendation

All NHS trusts should establish a routine reporting system for matters relating to mortuaries and body stores. This reporting system should include the presentation of a formal report, by the accountable executive director, to the trust board on a routine basis. The accountable executive director should prepare and present to the trust board a formal annual report, similar to the annual safeguarding report. The report should include: staffing matters; security incidents; all serious incidents; Human Tissue Authority reports (where applicable); and all security audits, including audits of access and any access breaches.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Government Interim Update of December 2025, NHS England has accepted this recommendation in principle and is developing a template for an annual mortuary report for presentation to trust boards by the accountable executive director. According to the same update, this initiative aims to establish a routine reporting system for mortuary matters.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, questions-statements.parliament.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
England
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part NHS England
01 Dec 2025

The Government has agreed to accept in principle this recommendation subject to further work to determine its full impact.

Progress Timeline
Official Report
01 Dec 2025

Accepted in principle. The government has agreed to accept in principle this recommendation subject to further work to determine the full impact. The government will continue to work on its response to the recommendations and provide a full response to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report by summer 2026. (Source: Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, December 2025)

Source
Inquiry Fuller Inquiry
Report Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report 15 Jul 2025
View Source
Responsible Bodies
NHS England Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Quality and safety oversight Reporting Governance Boards Mortuary
Recommendation age 0.7 yr
Last formal update 01 Dec 2025