Latest news with #ScottishChildAbuseInquiry
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Do we expect too much from public inquiries, like those into Edinburgh trams and Covid, in Scotland?
Experts say there should be a clearer focus on what public inquiries hope to achieve. Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Since 2007, they have cost the Scottish taxpayer £230 million, or about the same as the annual revenue expenditure of a smallish council. Significant sums of money are spent on public inquiries in the UK. More than half of this goes towards staff costs, including a sizeable chunk on lawyers. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One of Edinburgh's trams, which were the subject of an extensive public inquiry. Picture: Lisa Ferguson Meanwhile, there are criticisms over the length of time taken to reach conclusions. The probe into the Edinburgh tram fiasco, for example, took nine years and cost £13m. By the time its report was published in September 2023, the extension of the tramline to Newhaven had already been designed, built and opened, and the scandal had largely blown over. Both the UK and Scottish Covid inquiries are huge undertakings, and the ongoing Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, announced in December 2014, has so far cost £95.3m. But do we expect too much? Is part of the problem simply that we expect too much of public inquiries? Holyrood's finance and public administration committee is scrutinising their cost effectiveness, and the evidence has provided much food for thought. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "In other jurisdictions, there is a clearer focus on what the purpose of an individual inquiry is,' Dr Emma Ireton, an associate professor at Nottingham Law School, told MSPs. 'We have had this in the past, but it's been drifting, and we've had massive mission creep." She added: "There is a better understanding in other jurisdictions. When an inquiry is convened, you will see from the press, from the statements and so forth, there is a clearer understanding. 'This inquiry is to inform policy reform. This inquiry is to change policy to make sure that this doesn't happen again'. Or, 'this is a forensic inquiry to get answers to what went wrong so that we can understand.' Or, 'this is to correct the public record'. "So there is a better understanding. We have created a problem that you don't see on the same scale elsewhere, because we are expecting inquiries to do all those things and also, on top of that, we're placing justice, redress, accountability, catharsis." Laura Dunlop KC, convener of the law reform committee at the Faculty of Advocates, told MSPs: "I'm actually very interested in what Dr Ireton says about us being clear from the outset - what actually is this inquiry seeking to achieve? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "And that's not about terms of reference. Terms of reference are an art in their own right and they've got longer and people spend a long time framing them and all the rest. "But the overarching question of 'what is this really for?', I think is very interesting and we perhaps need to do a bit more focused thinking on that." Kicking problems into the long grass James Mitchell, professor of public policy at the University of Edinburgh, has previously raised concerns that inquiries, while useful, can be a way of kicking problems into the long grass. There is also a sense that politicians and journalists sometimes reach for them as a panacea, setting unrealistic expectations. Lord Hardie, chair of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, said former first minister Alex Salmond promised a "swift and thorough" probe without any knowledge of what would be involved. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lord Hardie, chair of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry | PA A report by a committee of the House of Lords in 2024 highlighted 'a lack of clarity' as to what public inquiries can achieve. 'Inquiries sit in an uneasy space between politics and the justice system, while combining elements of both,' it noted perceptively. Why reform is needed It seems clear the existing system could benefit from reform. Dr Ireton suggests establishing a public inquiries hub, to act as a 'central repository of learning and procedural innovation, and to provide induction for new chairs and information on cost management'. Michael Clancy, director of law reform at the Law Society of Scotland, told MSPs: 'There ought to be some kind of Scottish inquiries unit, that the Scottish Government should establish.' He added: 'Why don't we have a bank of people who are skilled at the running of inquiries and who can be called upon to be able to service any future inquiry?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Of course, more focused, narrowly-defined inquiries would inevitably spark rows over what gets included in the investigation and what does not. "We talk about the survivors and the bereaved as if they are a single, homogenous group, and they're not,' Dr Ireton, who co-authored the book The Practical Guide to Public Inquiries, said. Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon departs the UK Covid inquiry at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre in January last year. Picture: Jeff| Getty Images "Some of them want very detailed answers. Some of them want a quick inquiry to make changes so that no other family has to go through what they've gone through. Others really want the public record corrected. "There is never consensus in any jurisdiction over what an inquiry should be, because these all conflict. And a decision has to be made at the very beginning, by the minister, looking at all these balancing, competing interests, in this situation what is needed from this inquiry? What do we need as the government to inform us going forward to address this matter of public concern? What is most pressing? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "So either you say all of those things and you accept that you're going to have massive inquiries - that probably by the time they report it's too late to bring about meaningful change, or you've had repeated incidents and so forth - or you accept that decisions need to be made, and some people will be disappointed and some people will be happy.'
STV News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- STV News
Part-time sheriff dismissed over 'vulgar' comments attacking inquiry chair
A part-time sheriff who accused the chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry of being a 'monster', 'deranged' and 'evil' has been removed from office. John Halley, an author and member of the Faculty of Advocates, was appointed as junior counsel to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) in October 2015 but was dismissed in April 2019, and posted a series of social media posts regarding chair of the inquiry, Lady Smith. In 2020, he was investigated for 'misbehaviour' regarding Twitter posts and public statements between May 2019 and December 2019. A probe around 'unfitness for office by reason of misbehaviour', led by Judge Lord Bracadale, found that 'it is inappropriate for a judicial office holder to conduct a campaign against another member of the judiciary in such a confrontational and public way… Such conduct is improper and not consistent with the dignity of judicial office'. Mr Halley brought a case against Lady Smith in an employment tribunal in July 2019, alleging disability discrimination, but withdrew his claim in December, and the proceedings were dismissed that month. In a series of statements in May 2019 he alleged that from September 1 2016 he had to suffer disability discrimination, harassment and victimisation by Lady Smith and accused her of being 'a danger to cancer sufferers at work'; and less than a month later, he branded her a 'serious danger to cancer sufferers'. In December 2019, he repeated the allegations to a broadcaster. However, a ruling issued on Wednesday found Mr Halley had the option to follow a formal grievance process, and was expected to behave with 'dignity' in his role. Procedures around fitness for office were postponed until February 2023, following a judicial review. However in several months in 2023, Mr Halley again posted on Twitter criticising Lady Smith, including calling her 'deranged', a 'monster' and a 'bully', and sharing an excerpt of his book, A Judicial Monstering – Child Sexual Abuse Cover Up and Corruption in Scotland. Mr Halley claimed by raising a case at the employment tribunal he had the right to be protected from allegations of 'misbehaviour' and claimed the communications did not constitute this. However, he was dismissed from his role on the basis that his posts amounted to 'personal attacks' and became 'progressively worse over time'. A report said: 'The fundamental problem for the judicial office holder is that it is not possible to identify anything which might reasonably and properly be categorised as a protected disclosure of information as opposed to mere vulgar abuse and vituperation, repeatedly made in the most unprofessional of terms. 'There is therefore in the present case no risk of confusing any protected disclosure with the terms in which it is advanced.' It added that 'communications were not framed in the way one might expect from a professional judge, conscious of the dignity of the office, exercising appropriate restraint, and aware of the need to preserve public confidence; rather the tone was offensive, vulgar and confrontational. 'The communications certainly amounted to a public attack on the character and integrity of a fellow judge.' It continued: 'The communications referred to the chair of the inquiry as evil, corrupt, a monster, who had manufactured false criminal charges against him to get him arrested, and who was a bully who had treated him viciously, an abuser, a danger to cancer sufferers, evil and deranged, questioning whether she was a normal, compassionate, rational human being, and saying that she was a person who was guilty of the abuse of public funds. 'The tenor of the communications, and the language used, becomes progressively worse over time and it is not unreasonable to categorise it as a campaign of personal abuse addressed to the inquiry chair.' It said the messages 'are seriously lacking in dignity…. not simply rash or intemperate comments showing a one-off lack of judgment. They evidence a sustained lack of judgment over an extended period of time.' The report said Mr Halley had 'brought the office of sheriff into disrepute'. It added: 'We are satisfied that (Mr Halley) is unfit to hold office by reason of misbehaviour.' A statement from the Scottish Government said: 'Given the gravity of the tribunal's findings, the First Minister accepted there are compelling reasons to remove part-time Sheriff Halley and has taken that decision.' The SCAI has been contacted for comment. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
GRAHAM GRANT: Welcome to Scotland's biggest growth industry... the inquiries that cost taxpayers millions of pounds
The inquiry has long been a favoured standby of blundering politicians with their backs to the wall - ordering one can buy you valuable time. It means they can refuse to comment because a probe is under way - and naturally it would be wrong to pre-judge its outcome. But in Scotland there has been an explosion in statutory inquiries, to the extent that they have become the country's only growth industry. They have been good news for lawyers - their pockets lined at taxpayers' expense - but it has been clear for years that the costs have been allowed to run out of control. Belatedly, MSPs on the finance committee have got round to looking into the issue, after the total bill soared to £230million – and there's every sign it will continue to rise. That's enough to hire nearly 9,000 nurses or 7,300 police officers, or possibly build a ferry – so the stakes are high, particularly at a time of lean public finances when we're told that every penny is a prisoner. So, we now have an inquiry into inquiries - and if it's deemed not to have been robust enough then there might well be calls for yet another inquiry to look into it. A steady stream of inquiries has come to define devolution, spawning a permanently backward-looking political culture, trapped in endless introspection – though it's rare for heads to roll. The worth of some of these fact-finding exercises isn't in doubt, including the valuable work of the £95.3million Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI), launched a decade ago. It has uncovered scandal after scandal, after putting religious orders, charities and private schools under the microscope. True, it took many years for survivors to win their fight for the probe, but it has triggered multiple police investigations and created a comprehensive record of abuse and neglect, helping current and future generations to protect children in care. No one knows when it will wrap up, or if they do they won't say, and in the meantime the costs keep ratcheting up. It is now at the centre of a separate probe by Jason Beer KC, instigated by the SCAI, after abuse survivor Kevin Sutherland was believed to have taken his own life. Last week, Professor Sandy Cameron, who chaired the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, told MSPs that the country 'can't keep going like this', adding: 'We need to think about other ways of achieving justice.' The case for doing so becomes all the more pressing when you consider that long-running public inquiries have cost Scotland's beleaguered NHS more than £12million in the past four years alone. National Services Scotland (NSS), the administrative arm of NHS Scotland, admitted that it has had to fork out £9million in legal fees and £3.1million in staff costs since 2021 to respond to probes that include the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry and the Covid-19 probe. Meanwhile, the probe into disgraced NHS Tayside surgeon Sam Eljamel has cost £1 million before the inquiry has even begun. Inquiries are a recurring feature of political life, so that at any given point one is either going on, being demanded, urged, threatened or occasionally refused (if a call for one is rejected, there must be something really bad lurking in the closet). Between 1990 and 2024, the UK and devolved governments spent at least £1.5billion on completed public inquiries, according to the Institute for Government. The inquiry chaired by Lord Hardie into the disastrous £1billion Edinburgh trams project uncovered evidence of myriad failings and ineptitude, laying bare a catalogue of delays and organisational chaos that formed a damning indictment of local government incompetence. Yet the inquiry itself cost more than £13million and took nine years to publish its findings, despite Alex Salmond saying it would be 'swift and thorough'. Lord Hardie has now told Holyrood's finance committee that there is a perception that public money is being wasted because the findings of public inquiries 'sit on ministers' shelves gathering dust'. He spoke out as the cost of the troubled Sheku Bayoh Inquiry rose to £24.8million – up by £1million since the end of last year - though that figure does not include the cost of the inquiry to the public bodies involved, such as Police Scotland and the Crown Office. The true cost to the taxpayer - so far - is around £50million, and yet the inquiry, which began back in 2020, is under serious threat after the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) called for chairman Lord Bracadale to be ousted on the grounds of perceived bias. Mr Bayoh died in police custody in 2015 amid allegations of racism and the use of excessive force by the officers restraining him. Lord Bracadale, a retired High Court judge, has had five meetings with Mr Bayoh's grieving relatives 'to address issues relating to the welfare of the family members'. He will chair hearings next month into his own suitability to continue leading the probe – so we now have another situation where an inquiry is holding a mini-inquiry into itself. A decade on, it seems that any chance of finding out exactly what happened is slipping away, with the SPF, representing rank-and-file officers, threatening a judicial review to remove Lord Bracadale as chairman. This toxic mess shows the gap between political rhetoric when inquiries are launched - focusing on the need for rapid answers - and the bleak reality, as they become bogged down in bureaucracy and bitter battles. The inquiry which set the tone for the ongoing obsession with official probes was the one that examined the fiasco surrounding the building of the Scottish parliament, which cost more than £400million (the original price-tag was around £10million). Its chairman, the late Lord Fraser, who reported back only three weeks before the building opened in 2004, memorably concluded that 'the ancient walls of the Canongate have echoed only to the cry of 'it wisnae me'.' More than 20 years on, that remains a familiar refrain among bungling bureaucrats and their political masters. It's probably only a matter of time before some hapless Minster announces an inquiry into the ferries fiasco (750million and counting) Let us hope the bill for that is less than the boats cost to build. But there is a radical solution – if they didn't make so many mistakes, we wouldn't need so many inquiries, conducted at our expense. In the meantime, we're paying a steep price for their incompetence - and the bill keeps rising.
The Herald Scotland
24-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Ministers urged to 'come clean' over Sheku Bayoh inquiry
His appointment will see costs spiral further, with taxpayers already facing a bill of more than £23million for the long-running inquiry. Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: 'Huge amounts of taxpayers' money have already been spent on this inquiry and this latest appointment will clearly add further expense. 'Given the extreme pressures on public finances the SNP need to come clean about what is truly happening with the Sheku Bayoh inquiry and guarantee answers will be delivered for all involved.' READ MORE: Former justice secretary urges MSPs to back Regan's prostitution crackdown bill Scotland 'can lead the way' with new specialist court to prosecute sex crimes MSPs to examine organised crime and overcrowding in drugs in prisons investigation Mr Beer's fee has not been disclosed. The inquiry is examining the circumstances surrounding Mr Bayoh's death in Fife in 2015 - and whether race was a factor. The 31-year-old died after being restrained by police officers in Kirkcaldy. The inquiry was plunged into turmoil last month after the Scottish Police Federation questioned the chairman's impartiality. Lord Bracadale is now considering his role after it emerged he had five meetings with Mr Bayoh's grieving family. Jason Beer KC has been hired by the Sheku Bayoh inquiry (Image: Jordan Pettitt) Mr Beer has worked on the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, the inquiry into Lucy Letby, the nurse convicted of murdering seven babies and the attempted murder of seven other infants, as well as those into the Grenfell disaster in London and the death of Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury. He is to lead the work on the procedural hearing on June 12 and 13 which will examine whether Lord Bracadale's conduct during the inquiry has been fair. Mr Beer joins Angela Grahame KC and Laura Thomson KC as senior counsel. The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) last month intimated a petition for a judicial review of the inquiry after announcing it had "lost confidence" in the proceedings. It is understood that Lord Bracadale, who has helmed the inquiry since 2020, will consider whether he should step down from the role in the aftermath of the hearing. Should he do so, it would result in significant delays to the inquiry's work. Since the statutory inquiry began in November 2020, it has cost more than £23.7 million. The inquiry has completed the process of gathering evidence and was due to hear closing submissions. After the concerns surrounding Lord Bracadale were first raised, Sadif Ashraf, the solicitor to the inquiry, wrote to all parties in March, pointing out the engagement of families was "crucial to the effectiveness" of the inquiry. He stressed that if the inquiry failed to obtain and retain the confidence of the families, its effectiveness would be prejudiced. Mr Ashraf said since the start of the inquiry's work, Lord Bracadale had publicly expressed his intention to keep the families "at the heart" of the inquiry, and considered it "reasonable and appropriate" to meet members of the Bayoh families "from time to time" to reassure them, maintain their confidence in its work, and encourage them to participate fully. The first meeting took place in November 2021, followed by further meetings in April and November 2022, and January and December last year. Mr Ashraf's letter noted the purpose of the meetings was "to address issues relating to the welfare of family members as the inquiry progressed", and its impact on them. "The chair made it clear that anything of an evidential nature would require to be examined in evidence in the inquiry," Mr Ashraf said. Chairs of other public inquiries have previously met bereaved families including those affected by the Covid pandemic in Scotland and the Grenfell fire. But David Kennedy, general secretary of the SPF, said last month: "These unusual developments have left many core participants feeling that the process no longer appears transparent and open, with all core participants having been treated equally." Earlier this week it was revealed that the cost of public inquiries in Scotland since 2007 had risen to £230m. The figures, collated by the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, found the costs of the Eljamel Inquiry had already grown to £1m, despite not having taken evidence yet. Some £666,949 of this was spent on staff, while £316,035 was spent on external legal costs. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which was announced in 2014 to investigate the abuse of children in care, remains the most expensive in the country, with a current cost of £95.3m. The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the Government's response to the pandemic, was announced in 202l and has already cost £34m. The costs of the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining issues with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, announced in 2019, have risen to £23.6m. The completed Edinburgh Trams Inquiry cost £13.1m. The figures were published as Holyrood's finance committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries. MSPs will probe the role of legal firms and whether they have a vested interest in inquiries running on for years past their original finish date. A spokeswoman for the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry said: 'The Scottish Police Federation has raised concerns about Lord Bracadale meeting with the families of Mr Bayoh. Loss of confidence by a core participant in the fairness of the conduct and procedure of the Inquiry by Lord Bracadale is a matter of concern. 'The Inquiry will hold a public hearing in June on the fairness of the conduct and procedure adopted by Lord Bracadale in meeting with the families. Submissions are invited from all core participants.' 'The Inquiry is delighted to welcome Jason Beer KC to the team. Mr Beer has a wealth of valuable experience across public inquiries and we look forward to working with him in the weeks to come.' The Scottish Government was approached for comment.
The Herald Scotland
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Cost of public inquiries in Scotland since 2007 rises to £230m
Some £666,949 of this was spent on staff, while £316,035 was spent on external legal costs. Patients of the disgraced neurosurgeon, who worked for NHS Tayside between 1995 and 2014, have claimed he harmed as many as 200 people, with some suffering life-changing injuries. The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, which was announced in 2014 to investigate the abuse of children in care, remains the most expensive in the country, with a current cost of £95.3 million. READ MORE: The Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, which is examining the Government's response to the pandemic, was announced in 2021 and has already cost £34 million. Meanwhile, the cost of the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry, which was announced in 2019, stood at £23.6 million as of December 2024. That inquiry is probing the death of Mr Bayoh, who died after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in 2015. The costs of the ongoing Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, which is examining issues with the construction of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh, have risen to £23.6 million. That inquiry was announced in 2019. The completed Edinburgh Trams Inquiry cost £13.1 million. The news comes as Holyrood's Finance Committee investigates the cost-effectiveness of public inquiries. MSPs could probe the role of legal firms and whether they have a vested interest in inquiries running on for years past their original finish date, and whether they have a conflict of interest in seeking to broaden the remit of inquiries, increasing costs further. Professor Sandy Cameron, the former chair of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry, will appear before the Finance Committee on Tuesday. In a written submission to the committee, Professor Cameron said that part of the reason for the rising costs of inquiries was the difficulty in managing legal fees and holding solicitors to budget. He said: 'It has to be recognised that inquiries are a source of substantial income for some large legal firms and, as such, the question arises as to the extent to which they are motivated to keep costs to a minimum and within budget.' Costs can also increase if more victims come forward when the timetable of an inquiry is expanded. Professor Cameron warned the length of some inquiries risks the loss of public interest while adding pressure to victims seeking answers. She said there is also the risk of 'passion fatigue' for participants if they run on. He added: 'Essentially, we need to ask the questions what are inquiries trying to achieve and could they be done differently? 'If we were starting from scratch could we devise a process which was more effective and less costly?'
