Latest news with #OrgreaveInquiry
The Herald Scotland
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
We should learn a lesson from America's can-do attitude
But rather than looking at the alleged injustices of one high-profile incident, as the Orgreave Inquiry will do, it is surely just as important to explore the wider social and economic injustices inflicted by the decline of mining and other traditional industries. The most recent State of the Coalfields report from Sheffield University, which explores the condition of former mining communities across the UK, concludes that in Scotland these areas 'still display acute social and economic disadvantage'. It is something which Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee has also touched on in its inquiry into industrial transition across Scotland. Read More: All of which underlines the necessity of sustainable reindustrialisation, the kind which rather than delivering here today-gone tomorrow employment, instead brings good jobs, skilled work and properly rewarding pay. These things should not be too much to expect. But for those who have fallen through the cracks in society in the years since the decline of older heavy industry, it has often felt that way. Now, with Scotland and the rest of the UK well placed to drive forward the industries of the future, a new era of opportunity is before us. That is why I'm delighted that we are on the verge of securing no fewer than 1,200 jobs for Ayrshire, in a development that promises to lock in growth, opportunity and community wealth for the long term. The UK-based undersea cable manufacturer XLCC is poised to deliver 900 manufacturing-related jobs at Hunterston, making the area a key hub for European and global development of technology which will help power the next generation of renewable energy projects at home and abroad. With global demand for high voltage direct current (HVDC) subsea cables rapidly outpacing supply, the company aims to build the world's biggest and most advanced HVDC manufacturing facility here in Scotland. It is hard to overstate the importance and significance of this project. For years we have been told that Scotland, with its huge green energy potential, is on the verge of a new industrial revolution which can provide the jobs and energy security we so badly need. Too often however, it has felt like we have been waiting and waiting for that long-heralded promise to become a reality. That is why the XLCC project is so vital, and so exciting. In addition to the jobs at Hunterston, 300 additional jobs are expected to be created in Kilmarnock , with the multi-award winning HALO enterprise and low carbon innovation centre identified as the preferred location. I have developed HALO over many years in the 28-acre site of the former Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the town. These posts, including project delivery and sales teams, will drive and support the manufacturing facility at Hunterston. The XLCC development has been in the pipeline since 2020, and like HALO will only be delivered through partnership between the private sector, unions, local authorities and both the Scottish and UK Governments, all working at pace to ensure this massive opportunity is secured. There are two other points worth making in relation to this promised jobs windfall for Ayrshire. Firstly, I would urge both the Scottish and UK Governments to do more to speed up the pace of investment in regeneration and reindustrialisation, including the easing of planning laws to make such development easier. Checks and balances, along with due process, are important when it comes to planning. But too often we are forced to wait too long to turn potential into reality. And delays are one reason we see valuable jobs going to other countries instead of being created here. That links directly to the second point, which is just how important it is for the manufacturing bases for the industries that will power the rest of this century to be based in this country. Scotland may have an abundance of natural resources when it comes to our energy potential. We are blessed with huge advantages when to green power, in addition to the oil and gas which is still an important part of our energy mix. But that only counts for so much if the infrastructure and industrial gain required to exploit those resources is outsourced to other nations. The arrival of XLCC in Scotland will be a powerful counter to the notion that we have to look elsewhere for energy manufacturing. And, as Scotland and [[Ayr]]shire witnessed during the visit of US President Donald Trump, we could do worse than take a leaf from the playbook of America's can-do attitude to business, enterprise and opportunity. We have the resources, and we have the skill – we just need the political will to ensure potential becomes reality. Dr Marie Macklin CBE is a leading Scottish businesswoman and investor.
ITV News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
What are public inquiries and how many are ongoing?
The government has said a public inquiry will be established into the Battle of Orgreave - the fifth to be announced in 2025. The announcement of this inquiry brings the total number of ongoing public inquiries to 23, more than at any time before. Concerns have been raised by members of the public, as well as MPs and ministers, over the ever-growing number, cost and length of time they take to complete their work. So what do public inquiries achieve, and, after this latest announcement, is the government too quick to push the inquiry button? What is a public inquiry? Public inquiries are set up by government ministers and aim to investigate "events of major public concern or to consider controversial public policy issues." There are two types of public inquiry, statutory and non-statutory. Statutory inquiries in the UK are launched under the Inquiries Act 2005 and have legal powers to compel evidence and witness testimony. Typically, they are used for serious matters of public concern and are often led by judges. Non-statutory inquiries have no legal powers and rely on voluntary cooperation. They are faster and more flexible, but can be less effective if key witnesses refuse to take part. Through the analysis of documents, as well as evidence and testimony from relevant parties, inquiries seek to establish a legal record of what happened, who bears responsibility and what recommendations can be made to prevent something similar from happening in the future. Do we need them? There are often widespread calls for public inquiries in the wake of serious events. Many see them as a vital tool in seeking answers and bringing all responsible parties together in one investigation. Responding to calls to reform the system, the government claimed recent public inquiries have been "considered to be an independent, legitimate and trusted method of investigating complex issues of deep public concern. "They have shown to be a way to shed light on injustices of the past, provide a means for victims and survivors to finally have their voices heard, and to help rebuild trust in national institutions." But cabinet minister Nick Thomas-Symonds acknowledged "there is serious and growing criticism of their cost, duration, and effectiveness." The government claims that, in the financial year 2023/24, the cost to the public of ongoing inquiries totalled more than £130 million. Statutory inquiries that produced their final report in the last five years took, on average, nearly five years to do so. How many public inquiries are there? With the announcement of the public inquiry into the Battle of Ogreave, the UK now has 23 ongoing statutory inquiries, including the Infected Blood Inquiry. According to the Institute for Government (IfG), since 1997, there have never been fewer than five public inquiries running at any one time. Three of the 23 - the Orgreave Inquiry, the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs and the Finucane Inquiry - have been announced, but are yet to begin. The IfG claims that between 1990 and 2025, 90 public inquiries have been launched – compared with only 19 in the 30 years prior. Whilst public inquiries vary greatly in length, the shortest ever recorded was less than a year. The Hammond Inquiry ran from September 2006 to June 2007, investigating allegations of corruption by Peter Mandelson over the handling of two foreign brothers' UK passport applications. Currently, the longest recorded inquiry was into Hyponatraemia-related deaths, which took over 13 years to complete. Could things change? In 2014, the House of Lords reviewed the public inquiry process and made 33 recommendations to reform it. The coalition Conservative and Liberal-Democrat government at the time accepted 19 of these, but failed to implement a single one. Reporting again in 2024, the Lords' Statutory Inquiry Committee reiterated many of these recommendations but disagreed with the 2014 suggestion that all new inquiries should be established as statutory. It concluded there were several benefits to non-statutory inquiries, particularly the ability for victims to address the chair directly, rather than through legal counsel as required by statute. The current government has accepted the latest report's findings and agreed that the inquiry process needs to be improved. It confirmed its intention is 'to build on this important work with a wider review of the policy and operational framework around public inquiries,' promising a further update to parliament in due course.
