Lords to debate report on Inquiries Act 2005
On Thursday 19 March the House of Lords will debate the report on the Inquiries Act 2005, which was published in March last year.
The Committee on the Inquiries Act 2005, established especially to scrutinise the legislation, called on the Government to set up a specialist unit to assist all public inquiries and pass on best practice. Its report found that the Government's approach to public inquiries wasted expert knowledge and made inquiries longer and more costly.
Lord Shutt of Greetland, who has called for the debate to take place, will question the Government's decision to reject the Committee's proposals for the centre of expertise.
The Committee's report, entitled The Inquiries Act 2005: post-legislative scrutiny, also found that the Government was not using the legislation enough, and was setting up inquiries with ‘inadequate powers'. In fact, since the report's publication, the Home Secretary has set up only three inquiries using the Act – and in two cases this has been because of litigation or the threat of litigation.
The debate will also cover the issue of ‘Maxwellisation' – the requirement to send warning letters to anyone facing significant criticism. As witnessed in the Chilcot Inquiry, this process has been criticised for the length and expense that it adds to inquiries.
Committee Chairman, Lord Shutt of Greetland, who will open the debate, said:
“We noted in our report that the Government has shown a degree of reluctance to use the Inquiries Act when establishing new inquiries, with only a handful since Leveson in 2011. We strongly urged the Government to make the most of the legislation when establishing inquiries, since it gives the inquiry far greater clout, and I am pleased to see that the most recent inquiry, into undercover policing, will do so.
“However, overall, the Committee is disappointed with the Government's response to our recommendations. Their rejection of our main recommendation, that of a establishing a central unit of expertise, I believe is short-sighted. A specialist unit would, the Committee found, lead to a vastly more efficient way of running inquiries, and avoid costly duplication of effort every time an inquiry is set up.
Moreover, we felt that the Government response was itself inadequate, and the Committee is still waiting, a year on from the report, for a more comprehensive answer to their findings which was promised months ago.”
The debate will be held in the Chamber of the House of Lords on Thursday 19 March. It is expected to start after 11.00am.
Members due to speak include:
- Viscount Tenby (Valedictory)
Lord Faulks will respond on behalf of the Government.
