Approved training course for inquests
Proposed criteria for approved inquest training course
Applies to England and Wales
Background
The Government has introduced the Public Office (Accountability) Bill, known as the Hillsborough Law, into Parliament.
The Bill will introduce changes, including:
- a new professional and legal duty of candour on public officials to act with honesty and integrity at all times;
- a new criminal offence for misleading the public; and
- promoting parity of arms, including by providing non-means tested legal help and legally aided advocacy at inquests where a public authority is an interested person.
New inquest category of law
The Legal Aid Agency has announced its intention to procure a new Inquest category of law in response to the introduction of the Bill.
Providers with a contract in this category will be able to undertake work on inquests.
Providers without the inquest contract will still be able to do this work where it falls in their category of law. For example, a mental health provider will be able to do work on an inquest about the death of an individual in mental health detention.
Approved training course for supervisors
We have indicated that one of the requirements for the Inquest Category of Law will be to employ a part-time equivalent supervisor in that Category. The supervisor will be required to meet a legal competence standard.
Our intention is to permit two different routes to meet the legal competence standard:
- Experience in carrying out a certain number of inquest cases
- Attendance at an inquest training course that has been approved by the LAA.
We are seeking views on the criteria we should use for deciding whether a training course should be approved for these purposes.
Draft Criteria
The draft criteria for a training course can be found here:
If you would like to provide feedback on the draft criteria, please complete the following survey: Inquest Training Course Survey
The survey will close on 12 August 2026.
Further information
The LAA will consider all survey responses to help us evaluate the draft criteria.
Following the survey, the LAA will review the criteria and publish a final version online.
Once the final criteria are published, we will then invite training providers to submit details of training courses which we will be reviewed by the LAA for approval.
The LAA published Headline Intentions for the launch of the tender for the new inquest category of law on 28 July 2026.
A copy of the Headline Intentions can be found here: Introduction of Inquest Category of Law - GOV.UK
Further information on how to apply for the inquests category of law will be found via the following link: Tenders for legal aid contracts - GOV.UK.