The Government’s response to the Independent Review of Disclosure (Fisher review) and what it means for training and standards
Published by Bob Denaro (KPM) @ BDG Training Team
The Government has published Modernising the Criminal Disclosure Regime (CP 1601), on 14th July 2026 which is its formal response to two of the most significant reviews of criminal disclosure in a generation. For anyone who investigates, prosecutes, or reviews cases under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996, it is worth reading closely, not least because training and competence run through almost every commitment in it.
One response, two reviews
The response, laid before Parliament this month, answers both Jonathan Fisher KC’s Disclosure in the Digital Age — Part One of the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences, published on 20 March 2025 with 45 recommendations — and the disclosure chapter of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of the Criminal Courts (Part II, Volume One, Chapter Five), published on 4 February 2026 with 10 recommendations on disclosure.
Rather than answer the two reviews separately, the Government has chosen to respond to them together, grouping overlapping recommendations so that reform can be taken forward as, in its words, “a strategic and coherent package.” The foreword is signed jointly by ministers from the Home Office, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of Justice, a signal that this is a whole-system undertaking rather than a single department’s project.
The framework stays; the practice changes
Neither review recommends tearing up the statute. The CPIA 1996 and its Code of Practice remain the backbone of the regime, supported by the Attorney General’s Guidelines, the Criminal Procedure Rules (including Part 15) and the CPS Disclosure Manual. What the Government accepts is that the operation of the regime has to change to cope with the volume and complexity of digital material, the response notes, for example, that around 20,000 devices may be awaiting analysis at any one time.
The direction of travel is threefold: keep the core legal framework but make it clearer and easier to use; harness technology, including responsible use of AI tools under human control; and get investigators, prosecutors and the defence engaging on disclosure earlier, with an Intensive Disclosure Regime for the most complex, data-heavy cases.
But the thread that should interest every practitioner and training lead is standards.
The Government commits to “strengthen training standards so that new officers in all major UK law enforcement agencies understand the role and importance of disclosure within the justice process and its centrality to the right to a fair trial,” and to ensure that investigators and disclosure officers “meet a clear minimum learning standard.”
What’s changing on training and standards
The response accepts a connected set of recommendations that, taken together, will raise the baseline for everyone who touches disclosure:
• A tiered national learning standard. A Bronze standard for all new officers, covering the operation of the criminal justice system and the importance of disclosure, and a Silver cross-agency standard for investigators and disclosure officers, covering the role of the investigator, their obligations under the CPIA and Code of Practice, and the practical application of the regime and the use of technology in material management. Agencies are to record and report on training completion. The College of Policing will bring agencies together to agree a single, shared minimum-standards product, while individual agencies keep responsibility for delivery.
• Advanced capability for complex cases (Gold). A Senior Disclosure Officer pathway is accepted in intent, but the Government has declined to impose a single universal, mandatory accreditation at this stage. Instead it will explore proportionate options, stand-alone modules or advanced disclosure content embedded in existing training, while specialist bodies such as the Serious Fraud Office can continue to design bespoke training for their caseloads.
• Keeping standards current. Bronze and Silver standards are to be reviewed and refreshed at regular intervals, officers are expected to undertake refresher training, and there will be stronger quality assurance of how disclosure learning is delivered — by the College of Policing, higher education institutions and other partners, with findings shared with the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
• Practical, scenario-based learning. Picking up Sir Brian Leveson’s recommendation, the College of Policing and the CPS are to co-develop practical, scenario-based disclosure training that reflects the realities of operational casework, with oversight and evaluation of its effectiveness.
• Consistency in sensitive cases. The Government accepts that enhanced training is needed to promote consistent application and interpretation of guidance in rape and serious sexual offence cases across the system.
• Skills for technology and AI. As advanced and AI-enabled tools enter the disclosure process, the Government is clear that tools alone will not suffice: staff must have the skills and training to configure and operate them competently. This sits alongside a new cross-agency protocol on the ethical and appropriate use of AI and significant investment in AI capability in policing.
Why local authorities and non-police investigators should take note
Much of the language in the reviews is framed around policing and the College of Policing. But the CPIA regime applies to all criminal proceedings in England and Wales, and the response is explicit that investigators are “most commonly the police, but also other law enforcement agencies including Public and Local authority teams who carry exactly the same duties to pursue reasonable lines of enquiry, schedule relevant unused and sensitive material and reveal material which meets the disclosure test.
The clear implication is that a consistent, evidenced minimum standard of disclosure competence is becoming the expectation across the system, not just within the 43 police forces. Organisations that already train their investigators and disclosure officers to a Bronze/Silver-style standard, and refresh that training, will be well placed, others may need to consider refresher training to ensure currency for their staff undertaking these roles.
The takeaway for training leads
Read end to end, the Government’s response is a strong steer that disclosure competence should be defined, delivered, refreshed and evidenced. For investigators and disclosure officers, that means understanding the CPIA and Code obligations, applying the disclosure test proportionately to large volumes of digital material, and using the tools of the trade, including AI, lawfully and competently.
At BDG Training Consultancy, this is the ground our disclosure training covers. If your organisation wants to align its investigators and disclosure officers with these emerging standards, through CPIA fundamentals, digital-disclosure practice, and scenario-based sessions grounded in real casework, we would be glad to help.
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