Public inquiries should be shortened and the progress of their recommendations tracked, according to a House of Lords committee, which says a major overhaul is required to restore public confidence among victims and survivors.
The committee’s report, published in the wake of the Grenfell Tower public inquiry, which took almost seven years, warns there is a perception that inquiries are frequently “too long and expensive”, undermining their credibility and prolonging trauma for those affected.
It suggests that public trust would be boosted by ministers setting an indicative deadline for each inquiry, with permission required to extend it, and the creation of a parliamentary public inquiries committee to monitor compliance with recommendations.
It says government failure to act on recommendations can add insult to injury “as it risks the recurrence of a disaster and undermines the whole purpose of holding an inquiry in the first place”.
The committee heard evidence that, had the recommendations from the inquiry into deaths at the Bristol Royal Infirmary in 2001 been implemented, then the patient deaths investigated by the Mid-Staffordshire Hospitals Inquiry in 2013 might have been less likely to occur.
Similarly, the Grenfell report said that tragedy might have been prevented had changes recommended by the 2013 inquest into the Lakanal House fire been made.
Lord Norton, chair of the House of Lords statutory inquiries committee, whose report was published on Monday, said: “You’ve got this mismatch in public expectation, because something happens, people demand a public inquiry, an inquiry’s set up, expectations are built up, it comes up with recommendations but the inquiry reports and the moment it reports it ceases to exist and then what happens next?
“The danger is public trust is built up only to be dashed if nothing happens to the recommendations.”
He said trust could also be undermined if inquiries take too long, “otherwise the danger is an inquiry may be seen as kicking an issue into the long grass.”
The report says 18 inquiries have been taking place in the UK this year. The Grenfell inquiry alone cost £173m and some have expressed concerns that it delayed the criminal investigations.
The committee was told that the protracted nature of some inquiries led to “people dying during the process, families feeling justice was delayed and other similar incidents happening before the inquiry reports”.
The report says that delays and costs could also be minimised by better sharing of best practice, which the new public inquiries committee could help with.
It states that the committee could help prevent future disasters by identifying systemic policy failures across different inquiries and help fulfil the Grenfell inquiry’s call for a “publicly accessible record of recommendations made by select committees, coroners and public inquiries together with a description of the steps taken in response”.
While the report by the Lords committee calls for lessons to be learned from past inquiries “to make inquiries as effective, cost-efficient and trusted as possible”, it also cautions against a one-size fits all approach.
It says that, despite the power of statutory inquiries to compel witness to give evidence, it heard evidence that non-statutory inquiries have benefits including their speed and cost, the flexibility for families to ask questions directly – as opposed to through lawyers – and that they can make witnesses feel more able to give frank and open evidence. As such, the committee advises that neither type of inquiry is inherently superior.
It also urges ministers to be more willing to consider appointing chairs who are not judges, or a panel, to encourage more subject-area expertise.
A government spokesperson said: “We remain absolutely committed to righting past wrongs and working to ensure justice is delivered for victims.
“We thank the committee for its report and will take the time to consider its findings and recommendations.”
