Inquiry Independence
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 12 September 2023 · Addressed to: Scottish Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
Scottish Ministers must not appoint any department, agency, or government organization as inquiry sponsor where it or its employees had involvement in the project under investigation.
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · 12 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In November 2025, the Scottish Government published "Public inquiries: guidance for Ministers and officials", which addresses independence requirements for inquiries, including considerations around the relationship between the sponsoring body and the subject matter under investigation (Public inquiries: guidance for Ministers and officials, Scottish Government, 24 November 2025).
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
The Scottish Government stated that guidance similar to that suggested is already in development. Source: Transport Secretary Statement, 2 November 2023.
Scottish Government · 2 Nov 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 2 Nov 2023 Initial status based on Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council responses to the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report (September 2023). Source →
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.