Governance Structure
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 12 September 2023 · Addressed to: City of Edinburgh Council
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The governance structure for the delivery of a major project such as a light rail scheme should follow published guidance and ensure clarity regarding the respective roles of various bodies and individuals. The chairman of the company responsible for procurement and management should not also be its chief executive.
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · 12 Sep 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Council committee report (16 November 2023) acknowledged difficulties in the governance of the first phase due to complexity in the governance structure and lack of understanding by individuals of their roles and responsibilities (City of Edinburgh Council Committee Report, 16 November 2023).
- No published updated governance framework specifically prohibiting the chairman of a procurement company from also serving as its chief executive has been identified to March 2026.
Sources
Response — verbatim from government
●City of Edinburgh Council — initial response
Council Leader Cammy Day stated: 'We know that serious mistakes were made in the construction of the original tram line.' The Council broadly agrees with Lord Hardie's recommendations but notes improvements were already implemented for the successful Trams to Newhaven project. The Council has not published a formal detailed response to individual recommendations. Source: Council news release, 2 November 2023.
City of Edinburgh Council · 2 Nov 2023 Written response →
●City of Edinburgh Council — follow-up
The Inquiry Report describes difficulties in the governance of the first phase of tram delivery as a result of complexity in the governance structure and also due to a lack of understanding by individuals and bodies as to their roles and responsibilities. It is agreed that in future the Council should ensure that the governance structure follows up to date guidance and importantly clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities of bodies and individuals. The Council should also seek assurance that the roles and responsibilities are clearly understood and a mechanism for this is set out at Recommendation 18. It is recommended that the Council should adopt this Recommendation. Source: Chief Executive's report to Transport and Environment Committee, 16 November 2023. Note: City of Edinburgh Council statuses are drawn from the Chief Executive's report to the Transport and Environment Committee (16 November 2023), referred to the full Council on 14 December 2023. This report appears to have been formally adopted but independent confirmation has not been obtained.
City of Edinburgh Council · 16 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.