Annual report 2025/26 laid before Parliament
The Annual Report of the National Guardian’s Office (NGO) has today been laid before Parliament, highlighting the…...
27 May 2026
Closure of the National Guardian's Office (NGO)
The NGO will close on 30 June 2026, following recommendations from Dr Penny Dash’s review of patient safety across the health and care landscape.
This website is in the process of being archived and will no longer be updated.
From 1 July, NHS England will take on some of the activities previously delivered by the NGO. The revised responsibilities for Freedom to Speak Up can be found on NHS England » The future of Freedom to Speak Up
For more information about Freedom to Speak Up and related work, please visit NHS England – Freedom to Speak Up
Data
From 1 July 2026, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will continue to securely hold personal data contained in NGO records. This data will be retained only for lawful and necessary purposes, including handling complaints, statutory information access requests, audit, and supporting Public Inquiries or other official investigations.
Speaking up
What is speaking up?
It is about speaking up about anything that gets in the way of doing a great job.
Freedom to Speak Up Guardians support workers to speak up when they feel that they are unable to in other ways.
There are over 1,000 Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in the NHS and independent sector organisations, national bodies and elsewhere.
32,167 cases raised (1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024)
We can all take action to help speaking up business as usual.
If you have completed our E-learning course - Speak Up, Listen Up, Follow Up - you can make a speaking up pledge.
Make a #SpeakUpPledge
About Us
Freedom To Speak Up
The National Guardian’s Office leads, trains and supports a network of Freedom to Speak Up Guardians in England and provides support and challenge to the healthcare system in England on speaking up.
The latest from NGO
Read the latest news, announcements, case studies and blogs from the National Guardian’s Office.
Temporary Workers, Permanent Voices: A Speak Up Review
A review carried out by the National Guardian’s Office has found that temporary workers feel largely excluded from…...
26 March 2026
Annual report laid before Parliament
The Annual Report of the National Guardian for the NHS is today (24 November 2025) laid before…...
24 November 2025
Thank you so much for this service
I have had a terribly tough and disappointing employee experience – I felt I had no other choice than to leave. Since leaving and feeling stronger, I have taken the step to contact the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian at the organisation. I wanted to share some feedback on how utterly professional, compassionate and objective the Guardian was. They have really helped me to find courage, self belief and also closure on what truly has left a detrimental effect on my professional confidence. Thank you so much for this service.
Read more stories from people who have spoken up