Overview

This bill establishes a Public Advocate to support families of victims after major incidents involving significant loss of life. The Advocate will advise families, act as a data controller for relevant information, and help them navigate investigations and access information.

Description

The Lord Chancellor will appoint the Public Advocate, who will be funded by Parliament. The Advocate's role is triggered when a major incident causing significant loss of life occurs, involving serious health and safety issues, regulatory failures, or other serious concerns. Activation requires both the Advocate's assessment of the event's severity and a request from over 50% of the deceased's representatives (family members) and injured survivors.

Advocate's Functions:

The Advocate's key functions include reporting to families on the progress of investigations, making reports available to all qualifying family members, and upon request from the families, establishing an Advocate's Panel. This Panel will act as a data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998, reviewing all relevant documentation and publishing a report. The Advocate is part of the Panel, but does not chair it.

Information Disclosure:

Relevant public authorities must provide documentation to the Advocate’s Panel unless disclosure is prohibited for national security, defence, legal reasons, or to protect ongoing police investigations. The Information Commissioner can review decisions to withhold information.

Reporting:

The Advocate will provide annual reports to the Lord Chancellor, and reports at the conclusion of support for specific events or as needed. The Lord Chancellor will present these to Parliament.

Government Spending

The bill mandates that the Lord Chancellor pays the Advocate's expenses and allowances from money provided by Parliament. No specific figures are provided in the bill text.

Groups Affected

• Families of those deceased in major incidents: Will receive advice and support from the Advocate and have access to information gathered by the Advocate’s Panel.
• Injured survivors of major incidents: May participate in requesting the Advocate's intervention and will potentially receive support and information.
• Public authorities: Will be required to provide relevant documentation to the Advocate's Panel, subject to exceptions for national security and ongoing investigations.
• The Lord Chancellor: Responsible for appointing the Advocate, overseeing their work and presenting reports to Parliament.
• The Information Commissioner: Will resolve disputes over the disclosure of information to the Advocate's Panel.

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