4 Conclusion
21. It is Parliament's responsibility to hold
the Executive to account for its actions. Part of this involves
investigating and inquiring into important matters of public concern.
For example, there have been many calls for an Iraq inquiry, and
the Government has clearly been reluctant to set up an inquiry
of its own in the foreseeable future. Yet Parliament has not succeeded
in establishing its own inquiry into the Government's actions
on Iraq, even though it is the most significant issue of public
concern in recent times. This signifies a fundamental problem
in our current constitutional arrangements. In the past, Parliament
has initiated investigations into matters as momentous as Iraq,
and has been expected to do so. In relation to Iraq, the Government
has conceded the principle of an inquiry. We have proposed a mechanism—the
establishment of Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry—for
Parliament to instigate inquiries of its own. It is now up to
Parliament to take that initiative.
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