A challenge has been opened on the Scottish Government’s ideation/crowdsourcing platform to gather comments and suggestions on the approach to setting up a Scottish Public Enquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland. Further information is below.
Setting up the Scottish COVID-19 Public Inquiry — Scottish Government Dialogue (ideas.gov.scot)
The purpose of a public inquiry is to:
- investigate events causing public concern
- establish the facts in relation to such issues
- determine the explanations for decisions taken, and causes of anything which may not have gone as expected
- consider if and how different outcomes could have been achieved
- establish any lessons to be learned from what has happened
- make any recommendations that the Inquiry considers appropriate
Please note that we are not currently taking evidence on behalf of the inquiry. Instead we are seeking views on the Government’s approach to setting up the inquiry.
What is the Scottish Government Doing with this Dialogue?
As one of several ways we are engaging with stakeholders and the public, your ideas and comments will help inform the suggested approach to establishing a COVID-19 Public Inquiry in Scotland and finalising the terms of reference.
The terms of reference, which will be set by Ministers, will detail what the Inquiry can and must achieve, for example:
- its overall purpose
- the particular matters to be determined e.g. whether the inquiry is being invited to review policy in a given area, or consider the facts of a particular case
- whether it is required to make recommendations
A Scottish Inquiry can only look into devolved matters in relation to Scotland. The Inquiry will operate independently of government and we are engaging with people and their representatives to ensure its terms of reference cover issues that have caused concern.
The contributions from this Dialogue challenge will be analysed for a report that will be used by the Government as it carries out its work to set up the inquiry
