{"id":67,"date":"2023-07-14T14:59:43","date_gmt":"2023-07-14T13:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casp\/?p=67"},"modified":"2023-07-14T15:14:28","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T14:14:28","slug":"not-just-facts-and-lessons-the-changing-role-of-uk-public-inquiries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/2023\/07\/14\/not-just-facts-and-lessons-the-changing-role-of-uk-public-inquiries\/","title":{"rendered":"Not just \u2018facts and lessons\u2019? The changing role of UK public inquiries"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>As the COVID-19 Inquiry makes headlines, sociologists at the University of Bath turn their attention to the increased pressures on inquiries to do more in this joint CASP and CDAS blog.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-68\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew-382x215.jpg 382w, https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/178\/2023\/07\/Covid-crew.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Pu<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">blic inquiries are now a routine response to crises and disasters.\u00a0Public inquiries are increasingly\u00a0complex in their structure, scope and aims. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Recent inquiries have been characterised by greater involvement and visibility of victim and survivor communities.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is a risk that public inquiries are becoming overburdened. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559683&quot;:0,&quot;335559684&quot;:-2,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There is an urgent need to assess how inquiries can best accommodate a set of diverse aims \u2013 to examine events, attribute blame, recognise victims, memorialise loss.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.public-inquiry.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">UK COVID-19 Inquiry<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u2013 announced in Spring 2021, with preliminary hearings starting in Spring 2023 \u2013 is proving to be an\u00a0ongoing source of controversy. From early debates about the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/11\/boris-johnson-public-inquiry-into-covid-begin-this-parliament\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">timing of the inquiry<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, to the drawn-out legal wranglings for the inquiry to gain access to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-politics-66165001\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Boris Johnson\u2019s WhatsApp messages<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, the inquiry has rarely been out of newspaper headlines over the past two years. That is at least partly due to the scope of the inquiry and the enormity of the task in hand. The inquiry\u2019s stated aim is to\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.public-inquiry.uk\/about\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201c<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">examine the UK\u2019s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future\u201d<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, a significant undertaking in and of itself, even more so considering that the pandemic touched everyone\u2019s lives, with devastating effects for many. Given its wide relevance and complexity,\u00a0the COVID-19 Inquiry is set to become one of the most high-profile inquiries of the early twenty-first century. As such, it should prompt greater sociological interest in the role of public inquiries in responding to and treating crisis-events.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Public inquiries in the twenty-first century<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Heated public debate about the need for a public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic points to the fact that this mechanism has become a routine response to public crises and disasters in the UK. Inquiries have become both a key feature of political culture and, in some cases at least,\u00a0media spectacles. The unfolding events of high-profile inquiries make headline news and their key moments now seem like a familiar news cycle, aided by the growth of new forms of public access \u2013 most notably, dedicated YouTube channels that transmit, as-live or in regular updates, an inquiry\u2019s public hearings. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Originally created out of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, inquiries have steadily proliferated over the last fifty years, such that they are \u2018no longer an instrument of last resort\u2019 (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/epub\/10.1177\/1362480616645648\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Greer and McLaughlin, 2017: 125<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">). <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">They have, at the same time, become increasingly complex, lengthy, and costly. The Chilcot Inquiry that examined the role of the UK in the build up to and occupation of Iraq <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/ukgwa\/20171123124056\/http:\/\/www.iraqinquiry.org.uk\/the-inquiry\/inquiry-costs\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">cost \u00a313 million<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">; Lord Leveson\u2019s Inquiry into press culture and standards <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk\/ukgwa\/20140122145147\/http:\/\/www.levesoninquiry.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Leveson-Inquiry-Final-costs-July-2011-to-end-of-Inquiry-31.doc\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">cost \u00a35 million<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">; and\u00a0reports suggest that the costs of the Covid 19 Inquiry have already <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2022\/aug\/22\/uk-covid-inquiry-bill-already-at-85m-as-government-hires-top-law-firms\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">reached \u00a385 million<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, even before substantive hearings commenced. Research for the Institute for Government suggests that, between 1990 and 2017, the UK Government and devolved nations <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk\/publication\/report\/how-public-inquiries-can-lead-change\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">have spent \u00a3639 million on inquiries<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. This is despite attempts, with the introduction of the Inquiries Act 2005 \u2013 which repealed the earlier 1921 Act \u2013 to tackle the perceived issue of government over-spending.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">What do Public Inquires do?<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Public inquiries are tasked with investigating\u00a0events of \u2018public concern.\u2019 A cursory look at the inquiries that have been called over the last fifty years in the UK \u2013 on such diverse issues and events as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">undercover policing<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.infectedbloodinquiry.org.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">the use of infected blood<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, and the failed implementation of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Horizon IT system in post offices<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> \u2013 reveals that what counts as \u2018public concern\u2019 is not fixed and is open to definition. Recent inquires have ranged from events which have had serious outcomes on the health or finances of particular groups, to government conduct and decision making in the leadup and during war.\u00a0 <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">At the most basic level a public inquiry will weigh evidence in an attempt to understand the causes and consequences of the event under examination. Through a forensic reconstruction and critical review of decisions made, an inquiry intends to establish\u00a0practical insights for governmental and other bodies to learn from and apply. This more narrowly defined role of public inquiry is principally concerned with the consideration and attribution of blame and responsibility. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Yet the structure and composition of inquiries has also changed. Inquiries increasingly rely on an expanding universe of expert witnesses, from diverse professional backgrounds and fields, who contribute to their proceedings.\u00a0In the context of the sensitive and contested issues at hand,\u00a0the role and place of such expertise also attracts significant controversy and critique. Recent inquiries have extended the scope of their work\u00a0to include a more central, visible and active role for victims\u2019 constituencies. Inquiries are now also seen as able to both inform the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/organisations\/uk-commission-on-covid-commemoration\/about\/terms-of-reference\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">direction of commemorative work<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> and, especially since the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, constitute a form of commemoration in their own rights. The inquiry process itself is thought to yield benefits, and\u00a0participation within an inquiry has\u00a0also been interpreted as a form of \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/pure.qub.ac.uk\/en\/publications\/reframing-public-inquiries-as-procedural-justice-for-victims-of-i\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">procedural justice<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201d. Mo<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">re broadly, public expectations about what inquiries can deliver have changed. Inquiries, like other interventions intended to redress large scale harms and official failures, will tend to have a \u2018<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/opiniojuris.org\/2022\/11\/04\/symposium-on-the-eccc-its-time-for-the-record-to-be-set-straight-history-memory-and-the-extraordinary-chambers-in-the-courts-of-cambodia\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">life cycle<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u2019 where victims groups and constituencies often hold initially inflated expectations\u00a0about what might be achieved through inquiry. These expectations are often <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/inews.co.uk\/news\/covid-bereaved-devastated-lack-hearings-pandemic-social-care-2374637\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">disappointed<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. <\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Academic research on public inquiries is yet to catch up with many of these developments and changes. We have begun to sketch some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/00380385221142503\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">avenues for thinking about public inquiries<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\"> though given their increasing\u00a0role and deployment as a policy tool and approach for social repair, important outstanding questions remain. How should inquiries best involve victim-survivor and\u00a0activist communities? How should inquiries define the role and contribution of different groups of witnesses, and manage the increasing pressures around credibility of evidence? How can we account for the greater complexity and proliferation of public inquiries, and how does this shape their meaning and utility, for governments, those directly involved, and the broader public?<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559737&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Dr Sarah Moore,\u00a0Dr Pete Manning,\u00a0Dr Jordan Tchilingirian,\u00a0Dr Kate Woodthorpe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the COVID-19 Inquiry makes headlines, sociologists at the University of Bath turn their attention to the increased pressures on inquiries to do more in this joint CASP and CDAS blog.\u00a0 Public inquiries are now a routine response to crises...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1460,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-67","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1460"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/casps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}