Public inquiries
- keith corkill
- Nov 21, 2018
- 2 min read
Public inquiries
The purpose of public inquiries has been much debated over the years. Discussions peaked around the passage of the Inquiries Act 2005; this legislation has determined the form and style of almost every inquiry since.
According to the former Department of Constitutional Affairs – and the Ministry of Justice which replaced it – the Government considers(((((((((( “preventing recurrence” )))))))))))to be the primary purpose of public inquiries.
Jason Beer QC, the UK’s leading authority on public inquiries, argues that the main function of inquiries is to address three key questions:
What happened?
Why did it happen and who is to blame?
What can be done to prevent this happening again?
All inquiries start by looking at what happened. They do this by collecting evidence, analysing documents and examining witness testimonies.
Inquiries then often draw on experts and policy professionals to help them form recommendations. These are intended to guide the Government and others to make the changes which will prevent recurrence. Between 1990 and 2017 46 inquiries made 2,791 recommendations.
Each public inquiry begins when its terms of reference are set out. These are specific instructions outlining the questions that the inquiry should address, the types of information and feedback that the Government wants, and often a sense of when the inquiry should issue its report.
Increasingly, inquiry chairs consult on the terms of reference with individuals and groups affected by the issue. Partly because of this, terms of reference have been growing longer and more detailed.
Although initiated and funded by government, public inquiries are run independently. Ministers have the power to remove a chair or terminate the whole process – but no minister has ever exercised this power.
Each inquiry is led by a panel led by a chairperson. The choice of the chair lies with the minister who initiates the inquiry, and the tendency is to favour judges.
When chairs are from a non-legal background, they tend to be drawn from those professions that enjoy a high degree of trust amongst the UK public. Scientists, social workers, doctors and engineers have all successfully chaired inquiries.
Most inquiries are now convened using the Inquiries Act 2005, which provides a uniform set of powers and rules for how an inquiry operates.
Before that, at least ten different pieces of legislation had been used to provide a statutory basis for inquiries.
Power to establish inquiry
A Minister may cause an inquiry to be held under this Act in relation to a case where it appears to him that—
particular events have caused, or are capable of causing, public concern, or
there is public concern that particular events may have occurred.
In this Act “Minister” means—
United Kingdom Minister;
the Scottish Ministers;
the Welsh Ministers;]
Northern Ireland Minister;
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