GSL Response: Future of Speaking Up

Why NHS England's proposals should go further

As NHS England takes on interim custodianship of Freedom to Speak Up (FTSU), the system stands at an important crossroads. The closure of the National Guardian’s Office provides a rare opportunity to not simply transfer functions, but to refocus on what might actually create an open, safe, and confident speaking up culture across the NHS.

Our response to NHS England’s Future of Speaking Up proposals recognises the progress made over the past decade. However, the evidence is clear: confidence in speaking up is not improving. National structures have grown, costs have increased, but outcomes remain inconsistent. If the aim is to strengthen psychological safety and ensure staff feel able to raise concerns, then bold redesign is required, not a half-hearted move that defaults to ‘business as usual’.

Guardians must remain a route, not the route

NHS England’s vision risks inadvertently cementing Guardians as the central mechanism for speaking up, creating the illusion that cultural openness can be delegated. Openness is cultivated by leaders, managers, and teams - not by parallel structures. The Guardian role is vital, but only as part of a wider ecosystem of everyday leadership behaviours, trustworthy local relationships, and independent support options for staff.

Independence remains fundamental

Proposals for Guardians to be “supported locally” overlook a well‑evidenced risk: when staff distrust leadership, they are unlikely to trust a Guardian overseen by that same leadership. Independence and Impartiality are not technical details – they are the cornerstone of a credible speaking up mechanism. Models that ensure clear operational distance, as provided by GSL, must form part of the national conversation.

Data and learning must shift from activity to impact

 Ending the existing cumbersome system for collecting Guardian data and integrating its collection into national processes is sensible. However, the limitations of this data and its contextual nature must be recognised. Measuring activity cannot substitute seeking cultural insight. The system must resist recreating metrics that drive narrative rather than learning. 

Training, networks, and support need remodelling

 The proposed continuation of centralised training and legacy networks risks repeating past mistakes. Guardians work in vastly different environments - no single national package can realistically meet these needs. Localised, employer-funded, context‑specific training and a transition to properly independent Guardian provision where peer-to-peer learning happens naturally without the need for costly national intervention would deliver better value and better outcomes. 

This is the moment to simplify, refocus and modernise

A future model for speaking up must:

• promote outcomes rather than compliance,
• ensure independence rather than organisational containment,
• streamline and rationalise national expectations,
• enable local leaders to take ownership of their culture.

The Guardian Service remains proud to support the NHS in building a system where openness is the norm, not the exception - and where every member of staff has access to the safe, impartial support they need.

You can read our response to NHS England’s engagement on the Future of Speaking Up here.