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ETI-14

Utility Diversion Risk Management

Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 19 September 2023 · Addressed to: Scottish Government

Government responseScottish Government: Noted (Nov 2023)

DeliveryNo statement from Scottish Government found

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 25 Recommendation 14 (paragraph 25.226)

Although some participants in the Inquiry criticised the use of MUDFA to divert utilities in advance of the infrastructure works and advocated the “bow wave” approach to the diversion of utilities that followed the mediation settlement at Mar Hall, I do not think it appropriate to be prescriptive about how the risks associated with the diversion of utilities are managed. It is sufficient for promoters of light rail schemes to be aware of such risks and to demonstrate that they have adequate proposals for managing them.

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 to the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish Government and its public bodies "already operate in line with these recommendations and best practice" through their delivery of major infrastructure projects (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.

About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.

Government response

●Scottish Government · Noted · 2 Nov 2023

Words of: Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition, statement to the Scottish Parliament, 2 November 2023 (text as published by the Scottish Government)

The remaining thirteen recommendations cover a range of areas relating to the governance and delivery of light rail projects. While these recommendations are directed squarely at project leads and Local Authority officials, there is a link to much of the work being done by this Government and its agencies, including Transport Scotland.

I am pleased to report that this Government and its public bodies already operate in line with these recommendations and best practice as evidenced by our excellent record of delivering major infrastructure projects including the Borders Railway, the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and the Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary, a complex engineering feat that has put our workmanship to the front and centre of global engineering.

Response document: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report: Transport Secretary statement

Site note: The statement gives this passage once, for what it calls "the remaining thirteen recommendations", and does not list them. The site records it on ETI-5, ETI-6, ETI-7, ETI-9, ETI-13 and ETI-14, the recommendations the site addresses to the Scottish Government that the statement does not answer elsewhere.

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.