Public inquiries not delivering change, Lords report warns

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.”

In the course of taking evidence, the Lords committee was told that some patient deaths at Mid-Staffordshire Hospital could have been avoided if recommendations from an inquiry into Bristol Royal Infirmary had been implemented.

Similarly, the committee heard that recommendations made following the Lakanal House fire could have prevented the fire at Grenfell Tower.

Conversely, witnesses told the committee that a report on the Soham murders led to better child protection rules, while an inquiry after the Dunblane shootings strengthened gun ownership laws.

The Grenfell inquiry, which took seven years, made 58 recommendations., external

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said the government will look at them in detail and respond within six months.

The Lords committee said there was a perception that inquiries were established by ministers to “kick a problem into the long grass”.

One of their key proposals is for Parliament to establish a new committee which would “hold the government to account” for implementing recommendations.

Lord Norton said such a body could create a “deterrent effect” and “stop minister from not paying enough attention”.

He says inquiries could also be speeded up if they are placed on a non-statutory rather than statutory footing.

Statutory inquires have the power to compel people to give evidence and to give it in public and under oath.