Inquiry Cost Transparency
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 19 September 2023 · Addressed to: Scottish Government
Government responseScottish Government: Not accepted (Nov 2023)
DeliveryNo statement from Scottish Government found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 2 Recommendation 4 (paragraph 2.102)
In reporting the cost of a public inquiry Scottish Ministers should report its net cost to the public purse, after discounting expenditure already incurred on accommodation, staff and other resources, as well as the total cost appearing in the accounts of the sponsor department.
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · 19 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
AI-generated evidence summary
In November 2023, Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, stated that she did not agree with the recommendation to present only net inquiry costs less accommodation and staff, adding that "Full transparency on costs and publication of them are in the public interest" (Màiri McAllan response, Nov 2023). The record holds no update since the Scottish Government's response of November 2023 (Màiri McAllan response, Nov 2023).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.
Government response
●Scottish Government · Not accepted · 2 Nov 2023
I note that one of Lord Hardie’s recommendations was about presenting only the net costs of public inquiries, less the costs for accommodation and staff. To be frank, I do not agree with that recommendation. Full transparency on costs and publication of them are in the public interest.
Response document: Meeting of the Parliament, 2 November 2023, Official Report: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Scottish Government has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.
How this page is built
The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.