Image: Two people stand in front of the National Covid Memorial Wall in London

Fourteen years of Conservative governments have led to a fundamental decline in UK public services. The point of a public service is to serve the public. This is something that has been shown to be distinctly lacking by the unprecedented number of public inquiries currently taking place.

A public inquiry is convened by a government minister. It is a major investigation into a set of events which have caused “public concern” - for example, the Grenfell Tower fire, or the Post Office Horizon scandal.

The UK’s leading lawyer on public inquiries, Jason Beer KC, outlines that the main function of public inquiry is to address:

• What happened?
• Why did it happen?
• Who is to blame?
• What can be done to stop it happening again?

As of September 2024 there are 17 statutory public inquiries and 2 ‘ad-hoc’ public inquiries running in the UK. These touch on every pillar of public institutions and services. There are inquiries into children and adult social care, the police, hospitals, the post-office, mental and physical health services and the British armed forces.

The Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, ran on a platform of service. In his first speech outside Number 10 Downing Street he stated “I invite you all to join this government of service in the mission of national renewal.” Against a backdrop of physically and metaphorically crumbling education, health, welfare and housing services, there is a clear need for regeneration.

A society that reflects on mistakes made and lessons learned is one on the road to equity and growth. This is the key point of a public inquiry; what, why, who and how to stop this happening again.

The Lampard Inquiry was given statutory powers after over a decade of campaigning by bereaved families who lost loved ones. Their loved ones died by suicide under the care of the Essex Mental Health Trusts. Only 11 Essex Trust staff members agreed to testify in the previous non-statutory Essex Inquiry; it was therefore converted to a statutory inquiry. The Chair now has the power to compel testimony from the staff involved due to the Inquiry’s statutory powers. Steven Snowden KC, Counsel to the families affected, outlined that the suicide rates in Essex are almost 50% higher than the national average. These deaths were preventable and occurred due to mismanagement, callous incompetence and a pervasive lack of resources. During his opening statement Nicholas Griffin KC, the counsel to the Inquiry, recognised “the urgency and importance of…our pursuit of truth” and the Inquiry’s commitment to “deliver a strong report with robust recommendations.”

The Chair of the Angiolini Inquiry, the non-statutory inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met police officer, shared a similar sentiment in her Part 1 Report. She stated that “this Report makes recommendations that need to be implemented by those responsible for policing to ensure that everything possible is being  done to prevent those entrusted with the power of the office of constable from abusing that  power in the most dreadful of circumstances.”

Again, the Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry wrote in the Inquiry Launch Statement “this Inquiry is our opportunity to reflect on all that took place during the pandemic in the UK - both what can be improved and what was done well – so that we are better equipped to deal with any future pandemics. It is also an opportunity to provide a long lasting record of the devastating impact of the pandemic on people across the UK.”

There is an appetite for social change encapsulated by the statements above, and the Labour landslide, won based on their campaign to “rebuild the country.” However, Lord Norton of Louth’s report, Public Inquiries: Enhancing Public Trust, points to the need to go further than public inquiries as an instrument for change. He stated that “‘Lessons learned’ is an entirely vacuous phrase if lessons aren’t being learned because inquiry recommendations are ignored or delayed.” A more concrete accountability mechanism is needed for this government to rebuild Britain. Now is the time for economic, social and cultural rights to be enshrined into domestic law. This is encompassed in a Social Rights Bill which would serve to legally safeguard the right to food, health, housing, work and social security.

A Social Rights Bill goes to the heart of “what can be done to stop this happening again”.

The Covid-19 Inquiry revealed that, due to a brutal system of austerity, the health of British society is at risk in times of crisis. The Lampard and Thirlwall Inquiry (the examination of the murders and attempted murders perpetrated by Lucy Letby against babies in a neonatal unit) showed that our health is at risk right now. The current state of the NHS leads to inevitable and preventable fatalities. An enshrined right to health could require that this government, and future governments, adequately fund the health service to keep it functioning and protecting the most vulnerable. In Labour’s 5 Missions to rebuild Britain, mission 5 is to build an NHS fit for the future. This mission speaks of “fewer lives lost.” In order for this to become a reality, a legal guarantee of adequate funding is necessary.

The Grenfell Tower Inquiry, which concluded in September 2024 after 7 years, showed in heartbreakingly stark terms how governmental disregard for housing standards leads to  unimaginable tragedy. The Right to Housing would ensure that minimum standards were adhered to. It will create a system of accountability.

The UK is at the top of league tables when it comes to homelessness. Britain has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the global advanced economies, with 1 in 200 families experiencing homelessness. It is hard to see how Labour’s missions to kickstart economic growth through high productivity and break down barriers to opportunity will come to fruition while the UK is in the depths of a large-scale homelessness and unsafe housing crisis. A Right to Housing would ensure that the government could be held to account for house building targets, leading to a safer, and economically active population.

The Post Office Horizon Inquiry looks into the failings of the Horizon IT system which led to the wrongful conviction of more than 900 sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses. It speaks to how the Right to Work would protect workers, giving the right to organise collectively, improving safeguards and standards. Liz Kendall MP stated that “spirallying inactivity is the greatest employment challenge for a generation.” People cannot be encouraged to work when their fundamental employment rights are not protected. A Right to Work would bring UK employment law into line with global standards and serve Labour’s goal of securing the highest sustained growth in the G7.

A Social Bill of Rights could include the Right to Food and Right to Social Security, creating a safety net for those currently choosing between heating their houses and feeding themselves. It has never been more apparent that a Right to Social Security is needed. The cost of living crisis has been compounded by an unjust and harsh benefits system. The Right to Social Security creates a basis for individuals to challenge unfair wait times, no recourse to public funds and punitive sanctions through the courts.

A Social Rights Bill could include a Right to Education, which would help to defend the British education system from cuts to funding, reforming education systems to “break down barriers to opportunity” and supporting young people to realise their ambitions.

A public inquiry takes place in the aftermath of what are often horrific and tragic events, large scale institutional failings or longstanding miscarriages of justice. Labour ran on a change manifesto. This is a time when the focus should be on the prevention of tragic events rather than lessons learned after the fact. The British state owes almost £47bn in compensation to victims of the infected blood and Post Office Horizon scandals. It is not only a moral imperative that the government find a way to prevent large-scale matters of “public concern” but also a financial one.

Public Inquiries, in general, produce a collective good. The argument for a Social Rights Bill does not diminish their rightful goal of learning from events that should not have happened and preventing them from happening again. A Social Rights Bill instead protects society from rampant public service cuts, a disregard for living and working conditions and a lack of safeguards against poverty and inequality. The government would be duty bound (legislatively) to defend the fundamental rights of its citizens. It is often the most vulnerable citizens who suffer due to a current lack of protection.

Louisa Reddin is a trainee solicitor at Hodge, Jones and Allen Solicitors. She has spent her career in the charity and legal sector, working with people experiencing homelessness and in human, welfare and LGBT+ rights.