Time for a new approach to major public inquiries - John Sturrock KC

10th November 2025

John Sturrock KC, who conducted the enquiry into NHS Highland bullying has written today (10 November 2025) in The Scotsman about the costs of enquiries and the need to find another way to deal with them.

The bill for public inquiries is now running at more than £230 million. Are costs out of control?" I was asked this question by Michael Marra, deputy convener of the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee at an evidence-gathering session on the cost-effectiveness of Scottish public inquiries, at which I was privileged to give evidence. The Committee wished to explore my experience in conducting a review into, and reporting on, allegations of bullying and harassment in NHS Highland in 2019. That review had taken approximately 18 weeks to complete.

Read the full article HERE

The Sturrock Report in 2019