Civil Sanctions for Misleading Reports
Edinburgh Tram Inquiry · Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report · Issued 19 September 2023 · Addressed to: Scottish Government
Government responseScottish Government: Under consideration (Nov 2023)
DeliveryNo statement from Scottish Government found
Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 25 Recommendation 22 (paragraph 25.234)
Where a company, including an ALEO, knowingly submits a report or other information to local authority officials that is misleading by reason of the inclusion of false statements or the omission of relevant facts or where such officials knowingly submit misleading information to councillors, whether or not councillors act upon that information, the Scottish Ministers should consider whether there should be an appropriate sanction in damages against the relevant individuals within the company responsible for the false statements or omission of relevant facts, as well as against the company itself, and against the relevant local authority officials involved in misleading councillors.
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 ministers were giving "careful consideration" to the recommendation, noting the view that the civil law of delictual liability might already provide for such sanctions but confirming that they would continue to consider the matter (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 · Under consideration · 2 Nov 2023
As for what the Government can do, the report recommended to us the development of specific sanctions under the civil law of damages, and made a call for a criminal statutory offence. We are giving careful consideration to both those recommendations. Our current view is that there might already be provision for such developments under the civil law of delictual liability and the criminal common law of fraud, but we will continue to consider the matter.
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.