Law and Lawyers: Public inquiries: are they of value?

Monday 3 September 2018

Public inquiries: are they of value?

Public inquiries play a prominent part in public life in the United Kingdom. When major accidents or disasters occur, or when something goes seriously wrong within government or a public body, calls are often made for “a public inquiry” to be held. Inquiries into matters of public concern can be used to establish facts, to learn lessons so that mistakes are not repeated, to restore public confidence and to determine accountability. Nevertheless, they can be lengthy; spend much time on matters of a procedural nature; very expensive; and, when they eventually report, their recommendations are not always implemented by Ministers. Concerns continue about the amount of control which Ministers are empowered to use in relation to inquires which they create.

The value of inquiries:

At least, that is the theory but the value of inquiries has been questioned. They can be lengthy and expensive - the Saville Inquiry into the events of "Bloody Sunday" (January 1972) was established in 1998, heard evidence until November 2004 and published a report on 15 June 2010. The costs were around £200m.
Whether it was worth that cost is debatable - BBC News 15 June 2010. The Chilcot Iraq Inquiry was set up in 2009 and reported in 2016. Its report is now "archived" and it is not particularly clear what lessons government has actually learned from it. The costs were around £13m. The Leveson Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press came in quite cheaply at £5.4m. It reported in November 2012 - now "archived" - but its proposals for new systems of press control have largely petered out, and the second part of it was dropped.

The costs of various inquiries over the period 2002-12 were set out in an answer to a question in the House of Commons - HERE.   Inquiry costs are principally made up of fees for the Chair and other inquiry staff (e.g. counsel to the inquiry, administrative support) and the costs of legal representation.

Inquiries can be non-statutory (e.g. Chilcot) or statutory (e.g. under the Inquiries Act 2005). The Inquiries Act 2005 is the principal statutory mechanism for inquiries. A House of Lords Select Committee undertook post-legislative scrutiny of the Act and reported in February 2014. House of Commons Library Research Briefings have been published - 1 July 2016 Public Inquiries: non-statutory commissions of inquiry and 30 January 2018 The Inquiries Act 2005.

At the end of this post are some links to material considering the value of inquiries.

Inquiries and Inquests:

A further complication can arise from the relationship between an inquiry and an inquest (conducted by a Coroner). The Hutton Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr David Kelly was set up in 2003 and reported in January 2004 - archived report. Lord Hutton - at Chapter 12 para 467 of his report stated:

"I am satisfied that Dr Kelly took his own life and that the principal cause of death was bleeding from incised wounds to his left wrist which Dr Kelly had inflicted on himself with the knife found beside his body. It is probable that the ingestion of an excess amount of Coproxamol tablets coupled with apparently clinically silent coronary artery disease would have played a part in bringing about death more certainly and more rapidly than it would have otherwise been the case. I am further satisfied that no other person was involved in the death of Dr Kelly and that Dr Kelly was not suffering from any significant mental illness at the time he took his own life."

Determining the cause of death is, of course, precisely the role of a Coroner's Investigation / Inquest. Following Dr Kelly's death, an inquest was opened but was adjourned whilst the Hutton Inquiry took place. Afterwards, the Coroner decided not to resume the inquest - BBC News 16 March 2004.   The Hutton conclusion as to cause of death was questioned by a number of doctors but, in June 2011, the then Attorney-General - Dominic Grieve QC - rejected calls for an inquest to be held into the death. An application for judicial review of this decision was refused - BBC News 19 December 2011.

The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 section 11 and Schedule 1 made provision for suspension of a Coroner's investigation (including inquest) pending an inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005. Once suspended an investigation may not be resumed unless, but must be resumed if, the senior coroner thinks that there is sufficient reason for resuming it.

The adjournment of Dr Kelly's inquest took place after the Lord Chancellor exercised his power under the Coroners Act 1988 s.17A which had been inserted into the 1988 Act by the Access to Justice Act 1999 s.71.   Section 17A has now been repealed and replaced by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

In November 2017, Inquests into the Grenfell Tower deaths were opened and adjourned - BBC News 22 November 2017. There was debate over whether a public inquiry was required or whether inquests would suffice - previous post.

House of Commons Briefing Paper 8012 (21 June 2017) looked at the relationship between Inquiries and Inquests.

: Update on present day inquiries :

Here is a round up of the situation at a number of on-going inquiries.

Grenfell Fire - The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is still engaged in Phase 1 which will last until Christmas. A letter has been sent to the inquiry by key organisations representing the bereaved, survivors and residents of Grenfell Tower, calling for effective participation in the Public Inquiry. This extract from the letter indicates the principal concerns:

Previous post 28 June 2018

Excellent coverage of the Inquiry is at BBC Radio - The Grenfell Tower Inquiry with Eddie Mair

Undercover Policing - The Undercover Policing Inquiry under the Chairmanship of Sir John Mitting is not likely to report until 2023 - The Guardian 10 May 2018. It has been on-going since 2015.

It is reported that there is turmoil at the inquiry due to a judicial review over the chairman’s suppression of cover names of officers accused of wrongdoing that included sleeping with their targets.- The Times 31 August 2018. Further issues with this inquiry are revealed in this UK Human Rights blogpost - "It was reported on Thursday, 5 July 2018, that three core participants in the Undercover Policing Inquiry are intending to launch a legal challenge against the Home Secretary’s decision not to appoint a panel to sit with the Chair, Sir John Mitting. They say a diverse panel is needed who will better understand the issues of racism, sexism and class discrimination that the inquiry will inevitably raise."

Infected Blood - The Infected Blood Inquiry under the chairmanship of Sir Brian Langstaff is a still engaged in preliminary hearings. Monday 24th to Wednesday 26th September will be an opportunity for core participants (or their legal representatives) to make opening statements about the work of the Inquiry. There will be a commemoration on the morning of 24th September.

BBC News 2 August 2018

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
was set up in 2015 and is now chaired by Professor Alexis Jay. The inquiry expects to conclude public hearings in 2020. and it has already issued an Interim Report and certain other reports. This Inquiry has wide ranging terms of reference and the Inquiries Act 2005 applies.

Renewable Heat Incentive - this is an inquiry in Northern Ireland - see the Inquiry website. It was set up in January 2017 following the collapse of the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland.

: Links looking at the value of inquiries :

The Telegraph 22 April 2004 - Public inquiries: a waste of time and money or a useful adjunct to the legal process?

The Guardian 15 September 2010 - Soham report author says public inquiries are not worth the money