Public Inquiry

Edinburgh Tram Inquiry

Status: Completed Chair: Lord Hardie Established: Oct 2014 Report: Sep 2023 Commissioned by: Scottish Government

Public inquiry into why the Edinburgh Trams project was delivered late, over budget, and with a reduced scope. The project cost £776m against an original estimate of £375m and took 5 years longer than planned.

Response breakdown

24 recommendations total

58%

29%

12%

14 (58%) — Accepted

7 (29%) — Accepted in Part

3 (12%) — Under Review

Evidence & impact

AI-generated · 26 Mar 2026

The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, chaired by Lord Hardie, examined the planning and construction of Edinburgh's tram system, which experienced significant cost overruns and delays. The inquiry published 24 recommendations in August 2023 focusing on project governance, management practices, and legal reforms.

The Scottish Government accepted 14 recommendations (58%), accepted 7 in principle (29%), and placed 3 under consideration (12%). In its November 2023 response, the Government stated that enhanced procedures for documentation management had been embedded within government and that guidance for establishing inquiries was already in development. The Government noted its commitment to collaborative working through the Verity House agreement, whilst maintaining that responsibility for project delivery remains with councils.

City of Edinburgh Council's Chief Executive reported to the Transport and Environment Committee in November 2023, recommending acceptance of several recommendations. Council Leader Cammy Day acknowledged that "serious mistakes were made in the construction of the original tram line" and noted that processes implemented since the original project had helped deliver the successful Trams to Newhaven extension.

The Council reported that scrutiny of ALEOs had "significantly improved" following reviews in 2012 and 2016, resulting in formalised observer roles and increased committee scrutiny. Training on the Member/Officer Protocol was being delivered to senior officers to clarify the distinction between officer and councillor roles.

Three recommendations regarding civil damages provisions and criminal offences for misleading evidence to inquiries remain under consideration by the Scottish Government, which noted that existing remedies may already exist under delictual liability and fraud law.

Whilst both the Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council provided initial responses accepting most recommendations, published evidence of specific implementation actions remains limited for many recommendations, particularly those relating to project management expertise requirements, governance structures, and stakeholder co-location practices.

Reports & milestones

Reports

12 Sep 2023 24 tracked recs Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Tracked recommendations

Timeline

05 Jun 2014 Inquiry Announced Scottish Ministers established an inquiry into the Edinburgh Tram Project. · Source

03 Jul 2014 Chair Appointed Lord Hardie appointed as Chair.

08 Sep 2014 Terms of Referenc… Inquiry to examine why project was delayed and over budget.

09 Mar 2017 Hearings Begin Evidence hearings commenced.

12 Sep 2023 Final Report Publ… Report published with 24 recommendations. · Source

31 Jan 2024 Government Respon… Scottish Government response to recommendations.

Recommendations

24 shown (filtered)

Code	Recommendation	Addressed to	Response
ETI-1	Public Inquiry Efficiency Scottish Ministers should review public inquiries to find cost-effective methods of avoiding establishment delays, potentially creating a dedicated unit within the Scottish …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-2	Inquiry Independence Scottish Ministers must not appoint any department, agency, or government organization as inquiry sponsor where it or its employees had involvement in …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-3	Staffing Guidance Guidance should address: circumstances for civil servant transfers within government; which positions may use agency staff; and whether temporary contracts suit positions …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-4	Inquiry Cost Transparency When reporting public inquiry costs, Scottish Ministers should disclose net costs to the public purse, excluding previously-incurred accommodation and staffing expenses, alongside …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-5	Business Case Timing Where Business Cases assume pre-contract completion of design, approvals, or utility diversions, contract negotiations should await completion; otherwise, a revised Business Case …	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-6	Optimism Bias in Business Cases All Business Case versions must include risk assessments accounting for optimism bias per published government guidance.	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-7	External Peer Review Each Business Case risk assessment should undergo peer review by external consultants experienced in large-scale transportation infrastructure, submitting reports sufficiently before contract …	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-8	Update Optimism Bias Guidance Optimism bias guidance, based on decades-old data, requires updating to include light rail projects and reflect current empirical evidence, with reviews every …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-9	Risk Management Standards Risk identification and management should be integral to major public-sector contracts, employing probabilistic forecasts, critical review of mitigation claims, constant governance challenge, …	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-10	Joint Working Group with COSLA Scottish Ministers should establish a joint working group with Convention of Scottish Local Authorities representatives to leverage Transport Scotland's project management experience …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-11	Public Fund Protection Scottish Ministers and local authorities funding light rail should protect public funds through: conditional grant payments with review hold points; critical review …	Scottish Government	Accepted in Part	View →
ETI-12	Record Keeping Requirements For transparency, Scottish Ministers should maintain minutes documenting: discussions and decisions between Ministers and civil servants regarding publicly-funded project involvement; discussions with …	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-13	Utility Diversion Planning Light rail procurement strategies must adequately address utility location uncertainties, requiring route exposure and clearance well before construction, specifying elapsed time between …	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-14	Utility Diversion Risk Management While acknowledging utility diversion approaches, promoters should demonstrate adequate risk management proposals without prescriptive requirements regarding MUDFA versus bow wave methods.	Scottish Government	Accepted	View →
ETI-15	Qualified Project Management Project promoters should appoint procurement and project managers with qualified, experienced permanent employees who have successfully delivered similar projects on time and …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-16	Design Engagement Process Following designer appointment, continuous engagement with promoters, owners, project managers, planning authorities, utility companies, and affected landowners should clarify design criteria, with …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-17	Governance Structure The governance structure for the delivery of a major project such as a light rail scheme should follow published guidance and ensure …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-18	Effective Communication and Reporting There should be effective communication and reporting at all stages of the project, including accurate progress reports to councillors and stakeholders, with …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-19	Collaborative Delivery At all stages of the project there should be a collaborative approach to delivering it, including co-location of representatives from each organisation …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-20	Prohibition on Misleading Reports from ALEOs The directors, employees and consultants of the company responsible for the procurement and delivery of the project as project managers, including an …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-21	Duty of Officials to Councillors Local authority officials should be mindful at all times of the distinction in roles between them and councillors, who are solely responsible …	City of Edinburgh Council	Accepted	View →
ETI-22	Civil Sanctions for Misleading Reports Where a company, including an ALEO, knowingly submits a report or other information to local authority officials that is misleading by reason …	Scottish Government	Under Consideration	View →
ETI-23	Criminal Sanctions for Misleading Information In addition to civil liability from any sanction introduced in accordance with Recommendation 22, Scottish Ministers should consider whether there is need …	Scottish Government	Under Consideration	View →
ETI-24	Duty of Disclosure Legislation Scottish Ministers should consider the need for legislation to impose a similar duty of disclosure to that owed by policyholders to their …	Scottish Government	Under Consideration	View →