Friday is the deadline for organisations to apply to the Scottish Covid Inquiry for core participant status.
Once the applications are submitted to the inquiry, the Chair will consider the applications and notify core participants if they are awarded that status.
The inquiry has published a protocol that sets out the criteria and application process. The Chair will be mindful that the scope of the inquiry is wide and potentially a very large number of organisations will be interested in participating. These areas cover a significant pool: public bodies; front-line services; economic operators; higher education providers; representative bodies; and individuals.Given the potentially vast remit of the inquiry, and the many discrete and distinct topics to be addressed, the number of core participants could be significant. However, in the interests of managing the inquiry’s efforts, this means that not all potential core participants can be awarded this status.
If your organisation is potentially involved in this inquiry, it is worth considering the benefit of core participant status. Our earlier article on the who’s who of the Covid inquiry looks at this in more detail. Essentially, core participants have certain rights in terms of participation in an inquiry, although the exercise of these rights is often discretionary and will depend on the procedure of the inquiry. For example, a core participant might wish to access evidence and to make an opening and/or closing statement, or put forward lines of questioning for witnesses. This can be critical in ensuring your organisation’s position is properly represented under public scrutiny.
Our team can help you take steps at the earliest stage to assess the merits of being a core participant, and alternative routes of involvement in the inquiry. We have experience of preparing entities in advance of inquiries, and have supported clients throughout the full life journey of an inquiry, from pre-commencement to recommendations, and onto subsequent litigation. It is important to be proactive in managing your organisation’s response to this inquiry, and consider now if this status would be appropriate. While an application may be considered if late, there is no guarantee the Chair will be in a position to accept these, given the likely level of interest.
Burness Paull has one of the strongest, dedicated teams of lawyers who focus purely on matters relating to government, the public sector and their relationship to business and society, working regularly across high-profile and highly sensitive issues within public inquiries and judicial reviews.
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