"Inquiries" are an important feature in the general legal landscape. They do not create law and they do not apportion either criminal or civil liability but they are a powerful mechanism for examining an "issue" in detail. They are able to provide some form of public accountability for actions and decisions.
The key aim
of an inquiry ought to be to try to prevent recurrence of the type of serious event which led, in the first place, to the creation of the inquiry. To that end, inquiries make recommendations for government to consider.An inquiry is constrained by its Terms of Reference which are set by the Minister when setting up the inquiry - (e.g. see Inquiries Act 2005 section 5).
The "Chair" of an Inquiry does not have to be a judge (or former judge) though such appointments have become usual.
Inquiry procedure does not have to be adversarial in nature but frequently is with "Counsel to the Inquiry" examining witnesses and other counsel cross-examining them. Thus, the process comes to resemble a trial.
The amount of documentation can be enormous and all of it requires examination and often leads to questions at the inquiry. In itself, this leads to considerable costs.
Inquiries are seriously expensive and can take a very long time about their business. For example, the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry accumulated costs of c £178m - (see Grenfell Costs of Inquiry)
A major issue is the failure by government to implement recommendations. Apart from political pressures within Parliament there is no mechanism to require them to do so.
Further, it can be difficult for the public to discover what, if anything, has been done about recommendations. A public database of recommendations together with action either proposed or taken might be useful.
Types of "Inquiry"
Inquiries are either statutory or non-statutory. The more usual statutory inquiry is held under the Inquiries Act 2005 (which replaced earlier legislation). Various other legislation enables statutory inquiries to be held - e.g. Children Act 2004 section 3. It is also possible for certain Coroner's Inquests to be converted into Inquiries - see Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
NON-statutory inquiries fall into three groups:
- 'Ad-hoc' public inquiries;
- Committees of Privy Counsellors - notably the "Chilcot" Iraq Inquiry;
- Royal Commissions - (see Institute for Government "The Lost World of Royal Commissions")
On-going Inquiries (April 2025)
At the time of writing, several inquiries are on-going and their websites provide more detailed information. Examples include:
Covid-19 Inquiry - created in 2021 - handling its work in "modules" - One report has been issued (Module 1 Resilience and Preparedness) to which the government responded in January 2025.
Undercover Policing - created 2015
Post Office (Horizon) - created 2021
Afghanistan - created 2023
Thirlwall Inquiry - created 2023
Infected Blood - created 2017 and issued a report in 2024. Compensation is being administered by the Infected Blood Compensation Authority. On 9 April 2025, On 9 April 2025, the Inquiry announced that it will hold hearings on 7-8
May about the timeliness and adequacy of the Government’s response to
compensation.
Inquiry into the Southport attacks - created 2025
A fuller list is available at Wikipedia - Public Inquiries in the UK
Recent Inquiries
Baha Mousa - 2008 to 2011
Leveson Inquiry - Culture, practices and ethics of the press - 2011 to 2012
Al-Sweady - 2009 to 2014
Litvinenko - 2014 to 2016
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse - 2015 to 2022
Manchester Arena Bombing - 2019 to 2023
Grenfell Tower Fire - 2017 to 2024 - (the fire was on 14 June 2017)
House of Lords report
A House of Lords Select Committee reported on Inquiries in - Public Inquiries:Enhancing public trust (September 2024). The government response to the report is available HERE.
Other material
Institute for Government - Inquiries
Blog 6 KBW - The Manchester Arena Inquiry - Lessons for future inquiries - article by Duncan Atkinson KC (April 2023)
House of Commons Library - Research Briefing - The Inquiries Act 2005
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