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The Statutory Inquiries Committee publishes its report Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust.

• Report: Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust (HTML)
• Report: Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust (PDF)
• Shorthand story: Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust
• Inquiry: Statutory Inquiries
• Statutory Inquiries Committee

Each week, reports appear of the work or conclusions of public inquiries. Among the most high- profile we have Grenfell Tower, Covid-19, Contaminated Blood, Horizon Post Office, the Lampard inquiry on inpatient mental health deaths, as well as the Thirlwall inquiry examining events at the Countess of Chester Hospital following the conviction of Lucy Letby. These are just six of the 18 public inquiries that have been taking place in the UK this year.  No sooner has one reported than another is established, the latest being into the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

At their best, public inquiries conduct detailed investigations, establish facts, find where mistakes have been made and who is culpable for them, and detail what lessons must be learned and what changes should be made by the Government.

But too often inquiries are failing, chiefly because  when they report there is no obligation on government to act. It doesn’t have to give reasons for rejecting recommendations. And if it says it accepts them, there is no systematic means of monitoring implementation. Inquiries cannot themselves pursue government because the moment they report, they cease to exist.  Hopes raised by the outcome of an inquiry can be dashed by government inaction.

Key recommendations

In its report Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust, the Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee  recommends:

• a new committee of parliament to monitor the government response to inquiry recommendations and to ensure those that are accepted are implemented.
• better decisions at the start of an inquiry to expedite its work, reduce costs and ensure victims and survivors are properly involved. Indicative timetables and sharing of best practices can prevent each inquiry effectively having to reinvent the wheel.
• that the work started by the Inquiries Unit in the Cabinet Office should be built on to  help ensure that there is a bank of information from which chairs and inquiry secretariats can be offered proven approaches.

Inquiries need to be more efficient and more effective. The changes outlined in the committee’s report would provide both.

Chair’s comments

Chair of the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee, Lord Norton of Louth, yesterday said:

“’Lessons learned’ is an entirely vacuous phrase if lessons aren’t being learned because inquiry recommendations are ignored or delayed. Furthermore, it is insulting and upsetting for victims, survivors and their families who frequently hope that, from their unimaginable grief, something positive might prevail.

“So the monitoring and implementation of inquiry recommendations is essential. Additionally, public trust is lost where inquiries are unnecessarily protracted, and costs perceived to be excessive. The findings of this report aim to make inquiries as effective, cost-efficient and trusted as possible.”

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committee
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees