Part I:Introduction
On 17 June 1996 the Secretary of State for Wales, the Rt Hon William Hague MP, informed the House of Commons of the Government's decision, subject to the approval of both Houses of Parliament, that there should be a judicial inquiry, with the powers conferred by the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921, into the alleged abuse of children in care in the former county council areas of Gwynedd and Clwyd since 1974
