2. The first part of the investigation’s work comprised the publication of issues papers on the civil justice system and on criminal compensation in August 2016. Following the receipt of responses to these papers, the Inquiry held seminars in November 2016 and February 2017, to explore the two issues in more detail. The Inquiry subsequently made a number of recommendations in its Interim Report, published in April 2018.^[1]

3. The Inquiry also selected five case studies, through which to examine these issues: North Wales children’s homes; Forde Park Approved School; St Leonard’s children’s home; St Aidan’s Approved School and St Vincent’s Approved School; and Stanhope Castle Approved School. The case studies were selected in order to obtain as broad a range of evidence as possible on the system of civil justice. They generally included group actions where there were a large number of potential victims and survivors, from whom the Inquiry could also obtain evidence on their experiences of criminal compensation processes and support services.

4. We are grateful to all those victims and survivors who provided us with their evidence, some of whom died during the course of this investigation. We also understand that there were many victims and survivors involved who, for personal reasons, did not wish to provide evidence to us.

5. We wish to make clear at the outset of this report that the accountability and reparations investigation is not making findings in respect of individual allegations of child sexual abuse, the broader operation of the criminal justice system or the professional conduct of the lawyers involved in the civil litigation in each of the case studies. Instead, its purpose and that of the case studies is to provide an insight into how the systems of civil justice, criminal compensation and support services operate.

6. To this end, the Inquiry has sought evidence of past and present practices from a large number of witnesses, including lawyers, insurers and police officers, in order to obtain a clear picture of how those systems and services function, and to allow us to consider recommendations for how they may be improved in the future. Any issues that require further, more detailed, consideration will be examined in public hearings in November 2019.