PDF template
Public inquiry prep checklist.
A preparation checklist for an operator called to a public inquiry, covering the evidence to assemble and the questions to be ready to answer.
An operator facing a public inquiry should take specialist transport law advice. This checklist helps assemble evidence; it is not a substitute for representation.
What is on the sheet
- The call-up letter and what it specifically puts in issue
- Evidence of compliance across the period under scrutiny
- Changes made since, and proof they are embedded rather than promised
- Who attends, and what each of them is there to speak to
Why this record matters
A public inquiry is about repute and whether the operator can be trusted to hold a licence going forward, which makes it as much about what has changed as about what went wrong. Evidence that a correction is real and sustained carries more weight than an assurance that it will be.
The preparation that matters most is honest. Inquiries go badly when an operator is found to have overstated a fix, and that damage is harder to undo than the original failure.
Use it with
- O-licence undertakings checklistA checklist of the undertakings given on an operator licence, with the evidence that demonstrates each one is being kept.
- DVSA maintenance investigation prepA preparation checklist for a DVSA maintenance investigation, covering the records to assemble, the period they should span and the gaps worth finding first.
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Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. General guidance, not legal advice. Checked October 2026.