Parliamentary activity

Answering body: Cabinet Office

Since 2005, His Majesty’s Government has established 18 non-statutory inquiries.

The Cabinet Office collects data on the duration and cost of inquiries from departments, inquiries’ own reports, and other publicly available information. We do not centrally hold data on the projected costs of each inquiry as each Government Department is responsible for the inquiries they sponsor.

We have provided details on all non statutory inquiries established since 2005 in the table below. In the table below, “unknown” means that it is not known by Cabinet Office.

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Inquiry

Legislative Basis

Year established

Duration in months (from announcement to publication of final report)

Reported final costs where publicly available

Manston Inquiry

Non-Statutory

2025

Ongoing

Pending

Cranston Inquiry

Non-statutory

2023

Ongoing

Pending

Andrew Malkinson Inquiry

Non-statutory

2023

Ongoing

Pending

Fuller Inquiry

Non-statutory

2022

Ongoing

Pending

Angiolini Inquiry

Non-statutory

2022

Ongoing

Pending

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Non-statutory

2018

29

£1.7m

Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by Ian Paterson

Non-statutory

2018

26

£1.9m

Independent inquiry into the award of the Magnox decommissioning contract by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and its subsequent termination

Non-statutory

2017

48

Unknown

Gosport Independent Panel

Non-statutory

2014

42

£13m

Harris Review / Independent review of self-inflicted deaths of young adults in custody aged between 18 and 24

Non-statutory

2014

17

£0.2m

The Morecambe Bay Maternity and Neonatal Services Investigation

Non-statutory

2013

18

£1.1m

Daniel Morgan Independent Panel

Non-statutory

2013

97

£17.6m

The Detainee Inquiry

Non-statutory (Committee of Privy Counsellors)

2010

45

£2.3m (exc. VAT)

The Hillsborough Independent Panel

Non-statutory

2009

33

Less than £5m

Independent Inquiry into care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust January 2001 – March 2009

Non-statutory

2009

7

Unknown

The Iraq Inquiry / The Chilcot Inquiry

Non-statutory (Committee of Privy Counsellors)

2009

85

£13.1m

Inquiry into Human Tissue Analysis in UK Nuclear Facilities / Redfern Inquiry

Non-statutory

2007

43

Unknown

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Non-statutory

2007

48

£75k

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Answering body: Home Office

Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.

We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.

The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.

Answering body: Home Office

Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.

We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.

The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.

Answering body: Home Office

Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.

We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.

I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.

The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.

Answering body: Cabinet Office

The Cabinet Office collects data on the duration and cost of inquiries from departments, inquiries’ own reports, and other publicly available information.

We have provided details on all statutory and non-statutory inquiries established since 2005 in the table below.

In some cases, information in the table below has come from reports from outside the Government. We have not included the costs for ongoing inquiries, which are published at different frequencies on inquiry or departmental websites, and we have not included the details for any investigations commissioned by NHS England (some of which were counted in the total number of non-statutory inquiries in our previous response, answered on 8th February 2024, UIN HL1937). It has been noted where the publicly available information provides the cost excluding VAT.

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Inquiry

Sponsor Department

Legislative Basis

Year established

Duration in months (from announcement to publication of final report)

Reported final costs where publicly available

Jalal Uddin Inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2023

Ongoing

-

Cranston Inquiry

DfT

Non-statutory

2023

Ongoing

-

Andrew Malkinson Inquiry

MoJ

Non-statutory

2023

Ongoing

-

Thirlwall Inquiry

DHSC

Inquiries Act 2005

2023

Ongoing

-

Inquiry into the preventability of the Omagh bombing

NIO

Inquiries Act 2005

2023

Ongoing

-

Independent inquiry relating to Afghanistan

Ministry of Defence

Inquiries Act 2005

2022

Ongoing

-

Dawn Sturgess Inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2022

Ongoing

-

Fuller Inquiry

DHSC

Non-statutory

2022

Ongoing

-

Angiolini Inquiry

HO

Non-statutory

2022

Ongoing

-

UK Covid-19 Inquiry

Cabinet Office

Inquiries Act 2005

2022

Ongoing

-

Lampard Inquiry

DHSC

Inquiries Act 2005

2021

Ongoing

-

Jermaine Baker inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2020

29

£4.1m

Post Office Horizon IT inquiry

DBT

Inquiries Act 2005

2020

Ongoing

-

Manchester Arena inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2019

41

£35.6m

Brook House Inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2019

46

£18.7m

The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2018

29

£1.7m

Independent Inquiry into the issues raised by Ian Paterson

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2018

26

£1.9m

Grenfell Tower Inquiry

Cabinet Office

Inquiries Act 2005

2017

Ongoing

-

Infected Blood Inquiry

Cabinet Office

Inquiries Act 2005

2017

Ongoing

-

Independent inquiry into the award of the Magnox decommissioning contract by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and its subsequent termination

BEIS

Non-statutory

2017

48

[unknown]

Anthony Grainger Inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2016

40

£2.6m

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2015

99

£192.7m (as of Dec 2022)

Undercover Policing Inquiry

HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2015

Ongoing

-

Gosport Independent Panel

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2014

42

£13m

The Litvinenko Inquiry

HO, FCO and 3 x Intelligence Agencies

Inquiries Act 2005

2014

18

£2.4m (exc. VAT)

Harris Review / Independent review of self-inflicted deaths of young adults in custody aged between 18 and 24

MoJ

Non-statutory

2014

17

£0.2m

The Morecambe Bay Maternity and Neonatal Services Investigation

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2013

18

£1.1m

Daniel Morgan Independent Panel

HO

Non-statutory

2013

97

£17.6m

The Leveson Inquiry

DCMS and HO

Inquiries Act 2005

2011

16

£5.4m

The Azelle Rodney Inquiry

MoJ

Inquiries Act 2005

2010

40

£2.6m

Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Inquiry 2013 / The Francis Inquiry

Department of Health

Inquiries Act 2005

2010

36

£13.7m

The Detainee Inquiry

Cabinet Office

Non-statutory (Committee of Privy Counsellors)

2010

45

£2.3m (exc. VAT)

The Hillsborough Independent Panel

HO

Non-statutory

2009

33

Less than £5m

The Al Sweady Inquiry

MoD

Inquiries Act 2005

2009

61

£24.9m (exc. VAT)

Independent Inquiry into care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust January 2001 – March 2009

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2009

7

-

The Iraq Inquiry / The Chilcot Inquiry

Cabinet Office, FCO, DfID

Non-statutory (Committee of Privy Counsellors)

2009

85

£13.1m

The Bernard (Sonny) Lodge Inquiry

MoJ

Inquiries Act 2005

2009

10

£0.4m

The Baha Mousa Inquiry

MoD

Inquiries Act 2005

2008

39

£13m

Inquiry into Human Tissue Analysis in UK Nuclear Facilities / Redfern Inquiry

DTI - BERR - DECC

Non-statutory

2007

43

-

Contaminated Blood and Blood Products Inquiry

Department of Health

Non-statutory

2007

48

£75k

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Answering body: Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The UK is deeply concerned about the appalling human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The UN Commission of Inquiry report, published in 2014, highlighted the severe and systematic human rights violations perpetrated by the regime on its own people. These include summary executions, torture, lack of judicial process, forced labour and prevention of freedom of expression and religion. There is no evidence that the situation is improving. The UK Government will continue to work closely with partners and through international fora to raise its significant concerns about human rights in the DPRK and press for substantial reforms to improve the lives of North Korean citizens. The UK regularly raises our concerns about human rights violations directly with the regime through our Embassy in Pyongyang. The UK will support the annual resolution on DPRK human rights at the forthcoming UN General Assembly to maintain international attention on that country’s dire human rights record. I include with this answer a copy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report 2015 which includes a fuller assessment of the human rights situation in the DPRK.