The proposed HSSIB Bill will fully establish us as an independent non-departmental public body.
The Health Service Safety Investigations Body Bill will be reintroduced during this Parliament.
The Bill had progressed to second reading stage in the House of Lords prior to the calling of the General Election of 12 December 2019.
If Royal Assent is granted, the HSSIB Bill will establish our organisation as an independent non-departmental public body.
We will update this page with developments regarding the Bill’s reintroduction and passage through Parliament as they happen.
Key dates:
The HSSIB Bill was included in the Queen's Speech on 19 December 2019.
Draft Bill
In September 2017, the Government published the Health Service Safety Investigations Bill (HSSIB) in draft. The legislation will allow HSIB to become a fully independent investigations body responsible for finding answers, giving safety recommendations and embedding new practices across the NHS.
Central to this will be a commitment to a no-blame approach, encapsulated by the idea of investigations providing a ‘safe space’ for participants, including patients, families and staff, to share information.
The draft Bill underwent pre-legislative scrutiny by a Joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons from May to July 2018. The Committee published its report in August 2018 and the government published a response to this report in December 2018.