Public Inquiries: Costs

Baroness D'Souza Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

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.

[Baroness D'Souza (CB)]

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?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

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.