BMJ: Government’s response to £239m worth of inquiries has been “opaque,” says NAO (24 May 2018)

Summary

Around £240m of taxpayers’ money has been spent on government inquiries since 2005, but evidence that recommendations from these high profile investigations have been adopted is lacking, the UK public spending watchdog has concluded. The report by the National Audit Office into government funded inquiries, including those on NHS matters, describes uncertainty and variation in the relative costs of inquiries, the effects they had, and how they were carried out.1 In all, the watchdog found that the government spent at least £239m on the 26 inquiries that have concluded since 2005 and that they lasted on average 40 months