Invitation to a symposium on the proposed Hillsborough Law
9:30am - 4:30pm /
Wednesday 15th February 2017
/ Venue: Hub Lounge Foresight Centre (Block J)
Type: Conference /
Category: Department
- Marketing, Recruitment and events team
- Suitable for: Please register to attend the free public sessions. If you would like to be involved in a closed workshop, please contact jared.ficklin@liverpool.ac.uk to discuss your interest.
- Admission: Free to attend
- Book now
Add this event to my calendar
Click on "Create a calendar file" and your browser will download a .ics file for this event.
Microsoft Outlook: Download the file, double-click it to open it in Outlook, then click on "Save & Close" to save it to your calendar. If that doesn't work go into Outlook, click on the File tab, then on Open & Export, then Open Calendar. Select your .ics file then click on "Save & Close".
Google Calendar: download the file, then go into your calendar. On the left where it says "Other calendars" click on the arrow icon and then click on Import calendar. Click on Browse and select the .ics file, then click on Import.
Apple Calendar: The file may open automatically with an option to save it to your calendar. If not, download the file, then you can either drag it to Calendar or import the file by going to File >Import > Import and choosing the .ics file.
Invitation to a symposium on the proposed Hillsborough Law at the University of Liverpool, co-sponsored by the Liverpool Law School and Broudie Jackson Canter.
The public is invited to a symposium about the proposed Hillsborough Law, a bill that would require public bodies to tell the truth, to behave in the public interest, and to protect whistleblowers.
Background
In 2012, the Lord Chief Justice found that the 96 who died in the tragedy at Hillsborough were “helpless victim[s]”. The Chief Superintendent of the South Yorkshire Police apologised to the families for blaming the tragedy on their loved ones and for defaming them as “tanked-up yobs”. But during the Hillsborough inquests, lawyers for the South Yorkshire Police and former senior police officers argued forcefully that the victims were at least partially responsible for their own deaths because they were drunk, abusive and non-compliant. On 26 April 2016, families of the 96 victims finally received justice, after enduring 27 years of defamation and scorn from most of the political establishment and the media.
Other large public bodies have similar problems. Incidents such as those explored in the Mid Staffs NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry led to the introduction of a ‘duty of candour’ regulation across the NHS in 2014.
The Proposed Hillsborough Law
The Hillsborough Law is aimed at preventing this kind of institutional defensiveness and culture of denial in public bodies. From the Explanatory Note:
“The Hillsborough Law aims to ensure that public authorities and public servants tell the truth and act with candour, especially with respect to court proceedings, inquiries and investigations. This will help public institutions and further the public interest by contributing to the creation of a culture of integrity and openness, rather than institutional defensiveness.”
The Symposium
The University of Liverpool will hold a symposium to discuss the proposed Hillsborough Law on 15 February 2017. Speakers will set out the challenges of transparency and accountability in institutions such as the police or NHS. After the opening talks and paper presentations, invitees and contributors will meet in public workshops to debate particular aspects of the proposed legislation. The workshop groups will return in the afternoon to summarise their discussions and to make proposals for the future of the Bill.
There will be at least three workshops that will, respectively, consider: the Bill itself; the success or failure of the ‘duty of candour’ in the NHS context (ie Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the imposition of a similar duty into the NHS Standard Contract 2014/2015); and police/public body accountability more generally.
If you would like to be on a workshop panel, or have a suggestion for a workshop, please contact jared.ficklin@liverpool.ac.uk to discuss your interest.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Deborah Coles, Inquest
Alan Yates, formerly Chief Executive of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Dr James Organ, University of Liverpool
Professor Simon Gardiner and Dr Doug Morrison, Leeds Beckett University
Pete Weatherby QC, Hillsborough Legal Team and Bill co-drafter
Elkan Abrahamson, Hillsborough Legal Team, Director at Broudie Jackson Canter and Bill co-drafter
Eleanor Rathbone Lecture
The event will be followed by the Eleanor Rathbone Lecture delivered by Professor Phil Scraton 'Hillsborough: Resisting Injustice, Recovering Truth' which will take place at 5pm on Wednesday February 15, 2017.
Register for the lecture here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborough-resisting-injustice-recovering-truth-tickets-28421064168?aff=es2
The public is invited to a symposium about the proposed Hillsborough Law, a bill that would require public bodies to tell the truth, to behave in the public interest, and to protect whistleblowers.
Background
In 2012, the Lord Chief Justice found that the 96 who died in the tragedy at Hillsborough were “helpless victim[s]”. The Chief Superintendent of the South Yorkshire Police apologised to the families for blaming the tragedy on their loved ones and for defaming them as “tanked-up yobs”. But during the Hillsborough inquests, lawyers for the South Yorkshire Police and former senior police officers argued forcefully that the victims were at least partially responsible for their own deaths because they were drunk, abusive and non-compliant. On 26 April 2016, families of the 96 victims finally received justice, after enduring 27 years of defamation and scorn from most of the political establishment and the media.
Other large public bodies have similar problems. Incidents such as those explored in the Mid Staffs NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry led to the introduction of a ‘duty of candour’ regulation across the NHS in 2014.
The Proposed Hillsborough Law
The Hillsborough Law is aimed at preventing this kind of institutional defensiveness and culture of denial in public bodies. From the Explanatory Note:
“The Hillsborough Law aims to ensure that public authorities and public servants tell the truth and act with candour, especially with respect to court proceedings, inquiries and investigations. This will help public institutions and further the public interest by contributing to the creation of a culture of integrity and openness, rather than institutional defensiveness.”
The Symposium
The University of Liverpool will hold a symposium to discuss the proposed Hillsborough Law on 15 February 2017. Speakers will set out the challenges of transparency and accountability in institutions such as the police or NHS. After the opening talks and paper presentations, invitees and contributors will meet in public workshops to debate particular aspects of the proposed legislation. The workshop groups will return in the afternoon to summarise their discussions and to make proposals for the future of the Bill.
There will be at least three workshops that will, respectively, consider: the Bill itself; the success or failure of the ‘duty of candour’ in the NHS context (ie Regulation 20 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the imposition of a similar duty into the NHS Standard Contract 2014/2015); and police/public body accountability more generally.
If you would like to be on a workshop panel, or have a suggestion for a workshop, please contact jared.ficklin@liverpool.ac.uk to discuss your interest.
Confirmed Speakers Include:
Deborah Coles, Inquest
Alan Yates, formerly Chief Executive of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
Dr James Organ, University of Liverpool
Professor Simon Gardiner and Dr Doug Morrison, Leeds Beckett University
Pete Weatherby QC, Hillsborough Legal Team and Bill co-drafter
Elkan Abrahamson, Hillsborough Legal Team, Director at Broudie Jackson Canter and Bill co-drafter
Eleanor Rathbone Lecture
The event will be followed by the Eleanor Rathbone Lecture delivered by Professor Phil Scraton 'Hillsborough: Resisting Injustice, Recovering Truth' which will take place at 5pm on Wednesday February 15, 2017.
Register for the lecture here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hillsborough-resisting-injustice-recovering-truth-tickets-28421064168?aff=es2