There is such a variety of inquiries (together with reviews, inquests, tribunals and inspectors’ reports) that they do not lend themselves to easy generalisation. However, for the most part they are political instruments. They may be set up to advance particular policies, as a defence against unwanted pressure, as an expedient response to a public outcry, to sound out influential opinion prior to the introduction of a new policy or new legislation, to establish the facts of a disturbing case or to challenge prevailing assumptions: and so the list could be continued. Thus, although inquiries share a political character their functions are varied; and a single inquiry may well serve several purposes, not least because the interested parties seek different outcomes.

If one accepts that inquiries are essentially political (in the broadest sense) then it becomes important to appreciate why they are initiated, by whom, the timing, the form that they take, the interests that are reflected in their deliberations, the consequences of the conclusions that are reached and, of course, the relationship between these various matters. Let us consider a few features of each, having in mind their frequency in the field of child welfare.

I Variety, scope and classification

The initiation of an inquiry usually follows an event, often one that is vivid enough (or is made vivid enough) to speak for similar issues. Nevertheless, those events can be of two kinds: the general and the particular. The general might be exemplified by the health select committee's inquiry into the welfare of former British child migrants that reported in 1997 or by the royal commission on the funding of long-term care for the elderly that reported two years later. Just when and how such concerns gain enough momentum to prompt an inquiry is, of course, of considerable significance; but two factors are noteworthy. One is the availability of statistical evidence, especially about trends that show a worsening situation. The other is the role played by interest groups, and sometimes by research, in creating a sufficient groundswell of disquiet to make a political response necessary.