Recommendations: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry

Scottish Ministers should review public inquiries to find cost-effective methods of avoiding establishment delays, potentially creating a dedicated unit within the Scottish …

Scottish Ministers must not appoint any department, agency, or government organization as inquiry sponsor where it or its employees had involvement in …

Guidance should address: circumstances for civil servant transfers within government; which positions may use agency staff; and whether temporary contracts suit positions …

When reporting public inquiry costs, Scottish Ministers should disclose net costs to the public purse, excluding previously-incurred accommodation and staffing expenses, alongside …

Where Business Cases assume pre-contract completion of design, approvals, or utility diversions, contract negotiations should await completion; otherwise, a revised Business Case …

All Business Case versions must include risk assessments accounting for optimism bias per published government guidance.

Each Business Case risk assessment should undergo peer review by external consultants experienced in large-scale transportation infrastructure, submitting reports sufficiently before contract …

Optimism bias guidance, based on decades-old data, requires updating to include light rail projects and reflect current empirical evidence, with reviews every …

Risk identification and management should be integral to major public-sector contracts, employing probabilistic forecasts, critical review of mitigation claims, constant governance challenge, …

Scottish Ministers should establish a joint working group with Convention of Scottish Local Authorities representatives to leverage Transport Scotland's project management experience …

Scottish Ministers and local authorities funding light rail should protect public funds through: conditional grant payments with review hold points; critical review …

For transparency, Scottish Ministers should maintain minutes documenting: discussions and decisions between Ministers and civil servants regarding publicly-funded project involvement; discussions with …

Light rail procurement strategies must adequately address utility location uncertainties, requiring route exposure and clearance well before construction, specifying elapsed time between …

While acknowledging utility diversion approaches, promoters should demonstrate adequate risk management proposals without prescriptive requirements regarding MUDFA versus bow wave methods.

Project promoters should appoint procurement and project managers with qualified, experienced permanent employees who have successfully delivered similar projects on time and …

Following designer appointment, continuous engagement with promoters, owners, project managers, planning authorities, utility companies, and affected landowners should clarify design criteria, with …

The governance structure for the delivery of a major project such as a light rail scheme should follow published guidance and ensure …

There should be effective communication and reporting at all stages of the project, including accurate progress reports to councillors and stakeholders, with …

At all stages of the project there should be a collaborative approach to delivering it, including co-location of representatives from each organisation …

The directors, employees and consultants of the company responsible for the procurement and delivery of the project as project managers, including an …

Local authority officials should be mindful at all times of the distinction in roles between them and councillors, who are solely responsible …

Where a company, including an ALEO, knowingly submits a report or other information to local authority officials that is misleading by reason …

In addition to civil liability from any sanction introduced in accordance with Recommendation 22, Scottish Ministers should consider whether there is need …

Scottish Ministers should consider the need for legislation to impose a similar duty of disclosure to that owed by policyholders to their …