Yesterday (28 June 2022), the Prime Minister finalised the Terms of Reference, which are now available in full on the Inquiry’s website.
There are certain small changes from the text proposed by Baroness Hallett which were, according to the Prime Minister’s Written Ministerial Statement to the House of Commons yesterday, proposed by the devolved governments and agreed with Baroness Hallett. From our own review of the finalised Terms of Reference, the only substantive change appears to be that the Terms of Reference commit the Inquiry to setting out publicly how it intends to minimise duplication of investigation, evidence gathering and reporting with any other public inquiry established by the devolved governments, and to liaising with any such inquiry before it investigates any matter which is also within that inquiry’s scope.
The Prime Minister also outlined in his Statement that he intends to appoint two panel members to the Inquiry “in the coming months”.
This is an important step forward in the Inquiry’s work and the Inquiry is, as of yesterday, “set up” under the provisions of the Inquiries Act 2005. As such, the Inquiry may now begin to consider evidence. Those interested in participating in the Inquiry should, if they have not begun the process already, turn their minds to which elements of the Terms of Reference they might seek to contribute on as a matter of priority. Additionally, we anticipate that the Inquiry’s next steps will include inviting applications for core participant status.
Please contact us if you would like to discuss your organisation’s specific situation.