Joint Working Group with COSLA
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 1 August 2023 · Addressed to: Scottish Government
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 25 Recommendation 10 (paragraph 25.222)
In the interests of protecting the public purse and maximising the benefits from public expenditure on major projects, the Scottish Ministers should contemplate establishing a joint working group consisting of officials in Transport Scotland and representatives of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (“COSLA”) to consider how best to take advantage of:
• tolerating the risk of cost overrun that is always a possibility in risk assessments by including all public-sector light rail projects in the portfolio of large projects undertaken by the Scottish Government, including those to be constructed wholly within the geographical boundaries of a single local authority;
• the greater experience within Transport Scotland of managing major projects in the public sector; and
• the necessary skills and expertise within Transport Scotland to deliver the project on time and within budget.
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · 1 Aug 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- No published evidence that a specific joint working group with COSLA representatives has been established to leverage Transport Scotland's project management experience for light rail projects has been identified to March 2026.
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Response — verbatim from government
●Scottish Government
The Scottish Government stated: 'Effective collaboration sits at the heart of this Government, and the recent Verity House agreement is a testament to our commitment to embrace that collaborative approach.' The Government committed to championing close working with local authority partners. 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.