Abuse inquiry costs will top £20 million

Tuesday 24 February 2015

The spiralling costs of the child abuse inquiry are likely to be more than three times the original budget according to a fresh report this morning.

Ministers are lining up an extra £14 million for the inquiry on top of the £6 million they have already had – meaning that the cost of the inquiry will be more than ten times the compensation that was paid out to abuse survivors under the redress schemes.

But the costs may continue to rise - one lawyer told Bailiwick Express last night that the final cost could bust the new limit and reach £50 million.

Lawyer’s fees have driven up the cost of the inquiry hugely - of the £4.5 million spent from January to December last year, £3.4 million was under the heading "Inquiry team fees and expenses".

By contrast, the compensation scheme for victims cost £4.6 million - of that sum, £1.9 million was paid in compensation and therapy costs to claimants.

It's not unusual for major inquiries to run over budget - the Bloody Sunday Inquiry cost around £400 million, and the Chilcott Inquiry into the build-up to the Iraq War has cost just over £9 million.

The Council of Ministers has taken a proposition to the States to cover the additional costs, but they want the inquiry to publish their final report by the end of next year.

So far, the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry has heard evidence from abuse victims about the sustained physical and sexual abuse that they were subjected to while in care. Evidence has been heard about the Beast of Jersey at children’s homes, that the head of Haut de la Garenne raped a young girl at the home, and that notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile had been in Jersey.

The inquiry began after the conclusion of the police investigation into historical child abuse in the Island.

That inquiry – codenamed “Operation Rectangle” – revealed an appalling history of abuse of children in care, many of whom had no family to turn to help them.

Operation Rectangle identified a total of 533 alleged offences reported and recorded between September 2007 and December 2010.

Of those alleged offences, 315 were reported as being committed at Haut de la Garenne children’s home. Eight people were prosecuted for 145 offences, and 7 convictions were secured. Police identified 151 named offenders and 192 victims.