Recommendation R105: Reverse burden for organisational failure to prevent harm
From Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Report, published 18 June 2026.
Recommendation
Consideration should be given to a different approach to the prosecution of organisations for failing to prevent deliberate harm being caused by their employees, such as by applying a reverse burden to the offence. This would require any organisation, such as an HSCT, to prove that, where deliberate harm had been caused to a service user by any individual employed by that organisation, that it had taken all reasonable and practicable steps to prevent such deliberate harm to service users, or alternatively, that that it was not practicable or not reasonably practicable to do more than was in fact done.
In brief (written by this site)
In September 2026, Robbie Butler, Minister of Health, stated in a written ministerial statement to the Northern Ireland Assembly that the Department of Health NI was considering amendments to care offences in the Adult Protection Bill to reflect a reverse burden of proof (Robbie Butler, Sep 2026). The Minister added in September 2026 that advice had been sought from the Office of Legislative Counsel on whether amendments were required, and that departmental officials were scheduled to meet with the Inquiry Chair to discuss recommendations relating to the bill (Robbie Butler, Sep 2026).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
No government response to this recommendation is on the record yet.
Delivery
Department of Health NI says in progress (23 September 2026)
In addition, my Department has been considering those recommendations relevant to the Adult Protection Bill, including recommendations relating to CCTV in care settings, adult safeguarding, the introduction of a statutory duty of candour and amendments to the care offences in Part 3 of the Bill to reflect a reverse burden of proof. Advice has been sought from the Office of Legislative Counsel on whether amendments are required to address a number of recommendations in the report. Officials are also meeting with the Inquiry Chair later this week to discuss further a number of the recommendations relating to the Bill.
From: Muckamore Abbey Hospital Inquiry Report Recommendations Departmental Progress Update (written ministerial statement), Robbie Butler, Minister of Health (Northern Ireland)
Site note: The statement gives this passage once, for the recommendations relevant to the Adult Protection Bill, and names this one by its subject, "amendments to the care offences ... to reflect a reverse burden of proof", not by number. The same words are recorded on R104 and R105.
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Department of Health NI
Delivery statement