Public Inquiries: Costs

Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government what was the cost of public inquiries in 2025, and what were the Government’s legal costs for representation in public inquiries.

My Lords, individual inquiries report their own costs. The Covid inquiry, for example, spent approximately £31 million in the first two quarters of the 2025-26 financial year, whereas the Post Office/Horizon inquiry reported spending of approximately £26 million in the 2024-25 financial year. The Cabinet Office also published Covid-19 inquiry legal response costs of £25 million for the 2024-25 financial year. Public inquiries remain vital for investigating serious concerns, shedding light on injustices and spurring change, as well as getting answers for victims and their loved ones.

I thank the Minister for the response, but the public will be slightly concerned that the Government do not seem to have an aggregate figure for the cost of inquiries, let alone the costs of their own legal expenses and of Civil Service time. At a time when cash is immensely tight, it would be a very good idea to tighten this up. Would it not be much better for future inquiries to set a fixed limit on how long they will take and a fixed budget that they cannot go beyond?

My noble friend raises some interesting points. It may help him to be aware of two developments that this Government have done in recent months. First, changes to the Ministerial Code have made it clear that, since October last year, any government department that wishes to bring forward a public inquiry has to bring forward a business case to a Cabinet Office Minister before the request goes to the Prime Minister. This is so that we can ensure that best practice is achieved. We have also updated the practitioners’ handbook with guidance for sponsor teams and inquiry staff on the set-up and operation of inquiries, the results of which will be published shortly.

My Lords, I hesitate to go too far back in the past, but the key to the inquiry following the Piper Alpha disaster and the Dunblane inquiry, which I commissioned, was appointing a judge with experience and having terms of reference that were clear and precise. In that way, one can get an inquiry that produces important results and which is conducted in time and well within reasonable expenditure.

The noble Lord makes a genuinely important point, in remembering that this is also about value for money. But I remind all noble Lords that this is truly about getting answers for people who have been victims of potentially horrendous and heartbreaking experiences, and about rebuilding trust in the state. He is absolutely right that it is key to make sure that we have learned best practice; however, I gently say to your Lordships’ House that it is also key to ensure that we implement the recommendations from each inquiry, to make sure that they are not books that sit on shelves, as has happened historically in some cases.

Could the Minister tell us how many public inquiries are on at the moment? Picking up the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Spellar, the cost is not just to judges, but to the number of public servants who have to be removed from their current work to service the inquiries.

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. The responsibilities on everybody to truly participate to provide evidence is key. To answer her specific question, there are currently 21 public inquiries on the statute book, of which 16 are active, 12 are statutory and eight have been initiated by this Government.

My Lords, there is a danger that public inquiries end up like the royal commissions of old: taking minutes, lasting years and losing public confidence. Is there not now a case for looking at the way that public inquiries are handled and at how one can make sure that at least some of them conclude more quickly, so that we do not have to wait several years, as well as looking at the questions of overall cost and time spent?

I absolutely agree. We have seen, whether in the infected blood scandal or the Horizon scandal, that people who genuinely wanted answers had to wait years before we even got to the point of a public inquiry. The Government have an opportunity to help rebuild trust in the institutions that should matter to people. At a time when there are significant threats to our democracy, it is incredibly important that people have trust in them. So, expediting this is key.

One of the things we have also done brought forward the dashboard where people can see what recommendations have been made by some of these public inquiries, to make sure that the recommendations are being implemented. There is a balance here. We must listen to people and ensure that they have their day and have their issues heard, and we must also act on the recommendations of the inquiries.

My Lords, some of the most serious matters considered by public inquiries inevitably touch on the actions or knowledge of the intelligence and security agencies. Can the Minister explain how the Government ensure that bodies such as MI5, MI6 and GCHQ are able to participate fully and properly in public inquiries by providing relevant evidence and assistance while also preserving their essential national security duties and statutory obligations? In particular, how do the Government ensure that national security considerations do not unduly limit an inquiry’s ability to establish the facts and command public confidence in its conclusions?

The noble Baroness will be very aware of the pre-existing processes that are in place through the public interest immunity certificate and the fact that, in statute, chairs of committees can see intelligence reports that allow them to work to ensure that nothing is being hidden and that key findings are made. PII certificates are a mechanism for Ministers to withhold highly sensitive material from disclosure in court proceedings, and they can be used in relation to statutory inquiries. It is fundamental that we make sure we get the balance right between ensuring that everybody is duly held to account while at the same time protecting the people who strive every day to keep us safe.

My Lords, in relation to my noble friend the Minister’s earlier remarks about the implementation of the recommendations of public inquiries, many of us would have liked to have seen the Leveson 2 recommendations implemented. But I commend the Government for the work they have done on the Hillsborough law, which of course derives directly from the outcome of this sort of public inquiry. Can the Minister update the House on the latest position with regard to the security services and the Hillsborough law?

I think I thank my noble friend for that question. A Statement will be made in the other place this afternoon that will update us. I reassure your Lordships’ House that this Government are completely committed to the Public Office (Accountability) Bill. Obviously, there are ongoing discussions with key stakeholders, not least the families. My honourable friend in the other place will report this afternoon on next steps.

My Lords, I declare an interest, having been a member of the Statutory Inquiries Committee. No one doubts the value of these committees, but a common concern of all committees, which has been noted here, is the degree to which Governments are prepared to implement their recommendations. In our committee, one of the key recommendations was the setting up of a new, independent committee of Parliament to have oversight of public inquiries and to monitor the publication of government responses on implementation. Has progress been made on that?

I thank the noble Baroness for the work she has done in this space: it was an excellent report that is feeding into the Government’s thinking about next steps. She may be aware that the PACAC in the other place currently has a call for evidence. I urge all Members to contribute on how we should do this. But, obviously, how we scrutinise the Government is a matter for Parliament. Having said that, we do appreciate that more scrutiny is required.

My Lords, public inquiries have had a bad rap recently, partly because of the eye-watering sums of money spent by the Post Office on its legal fees and the Post Office inquiry. But the Post Office inquiry, so far as I can tell, has been doing a really good job. There is one problem the Minister might consider: public inquiries can be used as an excuse for organisations, such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority, not to take action until the public inquiry reports. I understand why that is, but what can we do about it?