Public Inquiries - Costly Long Grass?

Statutory or Non Statutory Public Inquiries today can last for years & cost millions. On 16 September 2024 the House of Lords Statutory Inquiries Committee published its report looking into the efficacy of the law and practice relating to statutory public inquiries. It said that "18 inquiries ha(d) been taking place in the UK (that) year and the Grenfell Inquiry alone cost £173 million. Inquiries are frequently too long and expensive, leading to a loss of public confidence and protracted trauma for victims and survivors".

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/ldstatinq/9/9.pdf   

An earlier report was published in 2014 which made 33 recommendations. 19 were accepted and 14 were rejected. Of the recommendations accepted by the Government, none was subsequently implemented.

It isn't that we don't know that our system doesn't work. It isn't that the Government doesn't know that it doesn't work. No one, least of all the victims, are well served by this. Everyone who really thinks about it knows that it's death knell has been ringing loud & clear for decades. 

So why does the public clamour for it? Why do Governments set them up only to completely ignore the findings?

The public seem to have blind faith, without any evidence, that something will change as a result. Public inquiries are supposedly investigations set up by Government ministers to respond to events of major public concern or to consider controversial public policy issues. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, the public seem to believe that is true. Also, there simply doesn't appear to be any viable alternative to address valid public concerns.

I think Govenments use them to procrastinate & delay making change. Public Inquiries are not legally binding. The Chair can only make recommendations. "Government has spent £639m on public inquiries over the last 30 years and increasingly relies on them to examine major incidents and tragedies. Of the 68 public inquiries that took place since 1990, only six have been fully followed-up by select committees to see what government did as a result of the inquiry" according to;-

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/report/how-public-inquiries-can-lead-change 

We are supposed to be a beacon of democracy. Really? I can't see much evidence of democracy being served here. All I can see is a complete waste of time & shedloads of public money.

Something has to change.