In the United Kingdom, the term public inquiry, also known as a tribunal of inquiry, refers to either statutory or non-statutory inquiries that have been established either previously by the monarch or by government ministers of the United Kingdom, Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh governments to investigate either specific, controversial events or policy proposals. Non-statutory public inquiries are often used in order to investigate controversial events of national concern, the advantage being that they are more flexible than the statutory inquiry as they do not need to follow the requirements of the Inquiries Act 2005, The Inquiry Rules 2006 (UK, excluding Scotland) and The Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007. Statutory inquiries can be held as subject-specific public inquiries, however most are now held under the Inquiries Act 2005 which repealed the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921. Statutory public inquiries, unlike non-statutory inquiries, have legal powers to compel witnesses. This list excludes Public Local Inquiries (which encompasses Planning Inquiries, Compulsory Purchase Order Inquiries, Listed Building Inquiries etc.)
Only United Kingdom government ministers can establish public inquiries, set their terms of reference, and appoint the chair. The UK Government considers that the main purpose of public inquiries is in “preventing recurrence”. Between 1990 and 2017 UK governments spent at least £630m on public inquiries, with most expensive being the Bloody Sunday Inquiry costing £210.6 million. Most public inquiries take about two years to complete their work. Of the 69 inquiries launched between 1990 and 2017, the Hammond Inquiry into ministerial conduct relating to the Hinduja affair in 2001 was the shortest, taking just 45 days to report its findings; the Inquiry into Hyponatraemia-related Deaths in Northern Ireland was the longest, taking 13 years and three months.
In September 2024 the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee called for a change in the way public inquiries are set up and conducted. In their report, Public Inquiries: Enhancing Public Trust, it called for "significant improvements to the inquiry system, to make them more efficient and effective and to avoid the costly and wasteful process of inquiries 'reinventing the wheel'". The report recommended:
- A timescale for inquiries, to avoid unnecessary and excessive costs
- A newly-created Parliamentary Public Inquiries Committee to monitor and report on the steps being taken to implement inquiry recommendations
- A publicly-accessible online tracker showing how, and when, inquiry recommendations have been put in place
- More inquiries could be led by an expert, or panel of experts, rather than reliance on a judge – and more consideration be given to making some of them non-statutory
- The Inquiries Unit of the Cabinet Office be strengthened to ensure “best practice” is shared between inquiries, including on how best to involve victims and survivors
- Lengthy public inquiries produce interim reports, and others provide regular public updates
- Victims and survivors should be consulted where appropriate on an inquiry's scope.
Types of public inquiry
There are two types of public inquiry, the statutory inquiry and the non-statutory inquiry. Statutory public inquiries are led by a panel of professional people with a chairperson, who are often judges, or a lord, professor, senior civil servant, scientist, doctor or engineer. The big difference between the two types of public inquiries is that the non-statutory inquiry cannot compel witnesses to either give evidence under oath or to produce evidence relevant to the inquiry.
There are a range of types of non-statutory inquiries, but they primarily fall into three groups:
- 'Ad-hoc' public inquiries;
- Committees of privy counsellors;
- Royal Commissions
A range of terms may be used for these inquiries including describing them as "independent reviews" or "independent panels", but not all such panels or reviews are considered to constitute public inquiries.
Public inquiries in the UK have historically been widely used, especially royal commissions. Royal commissions were used so that the monarch could obtain advice and inquire into matters and misconduct outside of institutions, such as parliament. The first royal commission goes back to William the Conqueror in the 11th century, when he nominated an inquiry to produce the Domesday Book of land ownership. Royal commissions were later appointed by governments to obtain expert advice on subjects such as health, education, labour reform, public administration, welfare and factory legislation. Royal commissions became less common in the 1980s, and no new commission has been formed since 1999.
Subject-specific public inquiries
Subject-specific public inquiries are sections held within other acts of Parliament which also have the powers of statutory public inquiries, these include;
- section 3 of the Children Act 2004, carried out by the Children's Commissioner,
- section 14 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and before that the Offshore Installations (Public Inquiries) Regulations 1974,
- sections 68–72 of the Financial Services Act 2012,
- the Merchant Shipping Act 1995,
- regulation 16(13) of the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations 1969, and
- schedule 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, which enables non-statutory inquests to be converted into statutory inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005.
Public local inquiries
A public local inquiry is an inquiry led by the independent Planning Inspectorate, for various local issues involving a local planning authority. They follow formal rules and procedures, and they could include a planning application which has been refused permission, in which case it is called a Planning Inquiry, or an appeal against a compulsory purchase order, which are called a Compulsory Purchase Order Inquiry, or listed building consent appeals, which are called a Listed Building Inquiry. These types of inquiries may last for up to several days, or even weeks. Inquiries are usually held in local planning authority offices, village halls or community centres. One example of a Public Local Inquiry was the inquiry into the M4 Corridor around Newport Project in Wales, which followed The Highways (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1994 and The Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) (Wales) Rules 2010. This list excludes public local inquiries due to the numerous inquiries involved.
The rules for public local inquiries throughout the United Kingdom
- The Drought Orders (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1984
- The Highways (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1994
- The Public Libraries (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1992
- The Road Humps (Secretary of State) (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1986
The rules for public local inquiries in England and Wales
- The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2000
- The Rights of Way (Hearings and Inquiries Procedure) (England) Rules 2007
- The Electricity Generating Stations and Overhead Lines (Inquiries Procedure) (England and Wales) Rules 2007
- The Transport and Works (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2004
- The Pipe-lines (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 1995
- The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (Wales) Rules 2003
- The Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) Rules 2007
- The Compulsory Purchase (Inquiries Procedure) (Wales) Rules 2010
- The Electricity (Offshore Generating Stations) (Inquiries Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2019
The rules for public local inquiries in Scotland
- The Town and Country Planning (Inquiries Procedure) (Scotland) Rules 1997
- The Compulsory Purchase by Public Authorities (Inquiries Procedure) (Scotland) Rules 1998
- The Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiry Procedure (Scotland) Rules 1977
- The Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007 (Inquiries and Hearings Procedure) Rules 2007
The rules for public local inquiries in Northern Ireland
- The Health and Safety Inquiries (Procedure) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1980
- Planning (Inquiry Procedure) Rules (Northern Ireland) 2015
- The Agricultural Marketing (Public Inquiry) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1984
Statutory public inquiries
Statutory public inquiries, unlike non-statutory inquiries, have legal powers to compel witnesses.
Public inquiries under the Inquiries Act 2005
Current public inquiries
As of February 2025:
Former public inquiries
Public inquiries under the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921
Public inquiries under subject-specific legislation
Non-statutory public inquiries
'Ad-hoc' public inquiries
Current 'ad-hoc' public inquiries
As of February 2025:
Former 'ad-hoc' public inquiries
Royal commissions
The last royal commission was established during the Blair government in 1999, when he established the Royal Commission on the Reform of the House of Lords.
Ad hoc committees of privy counsellors
Ad hoc committees are made up of members of the Privy Council as they can be informed on 'Privy Council Terms', which allows members of the committees to be informed on the understanding that any secret information provided will remain confidential.
See also
- Inquests in England and Wales
- Fatal accident inquiry (Scotland)
Notes
References
External links
- A Guide to Public Inquiries
- Inquiries Guidance - Guidance for Inquiries Chairs and Secretaries, and Sponsor Departments
- National Audit Office investigation into government-funded inquiries
