header-logo header-logo

Lords slam lengthy inquiries

16 September 2024
Issue: 8086 / Categories: Legal News , Public , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail

Peers have called for a major overhaul of public inquiries—which they dub ‘frequently too long and expensive, leading to a loss of public confidence and protracted trauma’

An influential cross-party House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee heard evidence of people dying during the inquiry process, families feeling justice was delayed, and recommendations not being implemented, leading to the risk of a recurrence of a disaster.

Its report, ‘Public inquiries: enhancing public trust’, published this week, highlights that, while millions of pounds are spent on inquiries, ‘too little is done to ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved’. Moreover, the terms of reference are often too wide—inquiries need to collect sufficient evidence ‘rather than exhaustive quantities’.

The committee recommends inquiries work to a set timescale, to avoid unnecessary cost, and that a Parliamentary Public Inquiries Committee monitor the steps being taken to implement recommendations.

Another suggestion is that more inquiries be led by an expert or panel of experts rather than a judge. While judges can add weight to an inquiry, serving judges return to the Bench and may feel unable to comment on the government’s success or failures in implementing their recommendations, the report notes. Moreover, ‘there is a risk of the perception that an inquiry will mimic a court hearing, with a consequent loss of flexibility’.

Committee chair, Lord Norton 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.’

Issue: 8086 / Categories: Legal News , Public , Constitutional law
printer mail-details

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Excello Law—five appointments

Excello Law—five appointments

Fee-share firm expands across key practice areas with senior appointments

Irwin Mitchell—Grace Morahan

Irwin Mitchell—Grace Morahan

International divorce team welcomes new hire

Switalskis—14 trainee solicitors

Switalskis—14 trainee solicitors

Firm welcomes largest training cohort in its history

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll