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Publication duties
A UK statutory inquiry publishes under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Minister sets terms of reference before the setting-up date. The chairman must take reasonable steps so the public can attend and view evidence. The report goes out in full, minus material lawfully withheld. An inquiry site run by a public sector body must also meet the accessibility rules.
A reference note from Dan Malone, who builds software products.
The rule
“the chairman must take such steps as he considers reasonable to secure that members of the public (including reporters) are able— (a) to attend the inquiry or to see and hear a simultaneous transmission of proceedings at the inquiry”
The facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Terms of reference come before evidence | The Minister must set out the terms of reference before the setting-up date. The inquiry must not consider evidence before that date. The Minister may amend the terms later if the public interest requires it. The Minister must consult the chairman first. Source |
| Public record of evidence | The chairman must take reasonable steps for public access. The public must be able to get or view a record of evidence and documents given to the inquiry. Source |
| Restrictions on attendance and publication | The Minister may give a restriction notice. The chairman may make a restriction order. Both can restrict attendance, disclosure or publication of evidence. Disclosure restrictions stay in force with no end date. An expiry in the notice or order ends them. A later notice can vary or revoke them. Source |
| The report goes out in full | The Minister must arrange publication of the report. The chairman does this instead if the Minister passes the duty. The report goes out in full. The publisher may hold back material only for a statutory reason or a public interest reason. Source |
| Core participants see the publish version first | The chairman must give each core participant the version of the report that goes out. Their recognised legal representative also gets a copy. That version stays confidential until publication. Source |
| End of inquiry and transfer of the record | The inquiry ends when the chairman tells the Minister that the inquiry met its terms of reference. The Minister may end it earlier by notice, with reasons, laid before the relevant Parliament or Assembly. The chairman must keep the record comprehensive and well-ordered. At the end, the chairman transfers custody to a government department or a public record office, as the Minister directs. Source |
| UK accessibility duty and start dates | A UK public sector website must meet the accessibility requirement. Start dates differ. A site first published on or after 23 September 2018 came into scope on 23 September 2019. Every older site followed one year later. Mobile applications followed on 23 June 2021, the last date. Source |
| What the accessibility statement must contain | The statement must follow the model format, sit on the website in an accessible format, and stay under review. It must name the parts that are not accessible and describe alternatives. It must link to a contact form and to the enforcement procedure. Source |
| Who enforces, and the target standard | The enforcement body is the Equality and Human Rights Commission in England, Scotland and Wales. It is the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in Northern Ireland. Government guidance sets the target standard as WCAG 2.2 AA. Source |
| Ireland: evidence is private by default | An Irish commission of investigation hears evidence in private. Evidence goes public only if a witness asks and the commission agrees. It can also go public if the commission finds that public evidence is desirable. Source |
| Ireland: draft report, then dissolution | The commission must send a draft report before it submits the report. Each person named in the draft gets it. So does each person a reader could identify from it. The commission dissolves on submission of the final report. All evidence and documents go to the specified Minister. Source |
| Ireland: accessibility statement and monitor | An Irish public body must publish an accessibility statement in the EU model format. The statement needs a feedback mechanism. It needs a link to redress under the Equal Status Act 2000 and the Disability Act 2005. The National Disability Authority monitors compliance. Source |
The artefact
What goes wrong
/01
The Minister amends the terms of reference. The site still shows the first version.
/02
Evidence bundles go up as scanned image files. A screen reader gets nothing from them.
/03
A restriction order lands and the unredacted document stays online for public view.
/04
The accessibility statement is absent, stale, or not in the model format. The enforcement body can act.
/05
Transcripts sit on a separate hearing platform. The public record splits across two places.
/06
The inquiry ends. Nobody transfers the record, the domain lapses, and links die.
/07
Someone records or rebroadcasts the hearing feed without permission from the chairman.
/08
The report goes out as one huge file. Readers cannot find the note on the material held back.
Who supplies this
The Cabinet Office awarded it the Infected Blood Inquiry website maintenance, hosting and development contract on 18 July 2024. The notice runs 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2026. It states a contract value of 102,975 pounds and an award total of 17,500 pounds. Later attachments record an uplift and a variation.
https://www.digitalcraftsmen.com/
UK design agency with an accessibility practice for public sector sites.
https://www.nomensa.com/
Web archive platform for public sector site capture and retention. Relevant to the transfer of the record at the end of an inquiry.
https://www.mirrorweb.com/
Hearing, transcript and evidence platform for large legal proceedings. Sits behind the transcript and bundle feed that a site publishes.
https://opus2.com/
Transcription and electronic hearing services in the UK. Supplies the daily transcript that a hearings page carries.
https://www.epiqglobal.com/en-gb
The monitoring body for Irish public sector website accessibility. Publishes guidance on the accessibility statement and on testing.
https://www.nda.ie/
Send the duty, the deadline and where it has to sit. What comes back is a written scope for the page, or a straight answer that you do not need one.
Send the briefLast checked 2026-09-01 · Published 2026-09-01
This page is reference material, not legal advice. Your advisor owns what applies to you.