Open letter: End of Year Update from The Chair to the Inquiry

On 13 December 2024, the Chair to the Lampard Inquiry, Baroness Lampard CBE, published an open letter with an end of year update on the work of the Inquiry.

As we come to the end of 2024, I want to personally thank all those who have been engaged with the Lampard Inquiry this year. This year has seen significant developments, and I am proud of the work the Inquiry has completed so far.

At my request, I recently met with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP. At our meeting held on 9 December 2024, I was able to update the Secretary of State about the work of the Inquiry and the progress we have made in the eight months since the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference were approved by Government.

I wish to share with you the important advances made by the Inquiry this year:

1. The Inquiry held two sets of public Hearings in September and November, in which we heard Opening Statements from Core Participants and over 80 impact and commemorative accounts directly from families.
2. My team wrote to over 5,000 people, who may have been affected by the matters the Inquiry is investigating, informing them of the Inquiry and explaining to them how to get in touch with the Inquiry.
3. The Inquiry approved 96 Core Participant applications out of a total of 137 applications made, resulting in 70 per cent of all applications being granted.
4. The Inquiry has confirmed that all deaths related to current Core Participants will be included in the Inquiry’s sampling approach to case reviews.
5. We have announced three more evidential Hearings within the next 12 months and have confirmed the 2025 and 2026 Hearing dates.
6. The Inquiry is in the process of appointing Independent Assessors. These are highly skilled individuals with knowledge and experience within their respective areas of mental health provision, who will inform the Inquiry on important aspects of its work. Further details on these individuals will be published in due course.

I want to conclude by expressing once again my continuing and sincere gratitude to all those involved with the Inquiry. I also wish to thank those who provided commemorative evidence during the Inquiry’s Hearings.

Yours sincerely,

Baroness Lampard CBE

Chair to the Lampard Inquiry

You can download a copy of the open letter here.