Edinburgh Tram Inquiry: Search the Evidence

…sday, 12 September 2017 (9.30 am) CHAIR OF THE INQUIRY: Good morning. MR MACKENZIE: My Lord, the next witness is Duncan Fraser. CHAIR OF THE INQUIRY: Mr Fraser, I understand you wish to affirm. MR DUNCAN FRASER (affirmed) CHAIR OF THE INQUIRY: Have a seat. A. Thank you very much. CHAIR OF THE INQUIRY: I understand that you have not been t…

…go directly to Steven Bell, or if it was not as important or as urgent, then I would -- I'd maybe relay that to Duncan Fraser. Q. Over what period was Mr Fraser in tie? A. I would have said from when I started my employment, April 2008, he would have been there for the best part of a year. He retired some time round about spring 2009, fr…

…he Infraco contract tried to pro which there was known to be contract was entered into. 730 Witness statement of Duncan Fraser TRI0000 731 Transcript of oral evidence of Duncan Fraser 732 Transcript of oral evidence of Duncan Fraser 733 Transcript of oral evidence of Duncan Fraser endently and conducted its processes s contractually respo…

…rs is found at (CEC01222037). Although I appear in the earlier exchanges of the email chain I am not copied into Duncan Fraser's email of 2 May. I note Duncan Fraser TRI00000054_ C _0093 states "Can you advise me on your advice about the DLA letters (3 number) and whether they go far enough in meeting your expectations on quality and risk…

posed a risk premium of £25m, which he said that they were unhappy with 116. 114 CEC01246825_0006 115 Duncan Fraser Transcript 84.17‐85.2 116 Duncan Fraser Transcript 85.21‐86.1. TRI00000289_C_0031 This proposal was inserted by Fraser into a draft Council report for 20 December 2007117 , following a suggestion to his superior Andrew Holme…

…ng with all the points outstanding; I think you were actually present. Under the agreed outcome column you see: "Duncan Fraser to draft clear timeline to identify how those issues can be resolved by Monday to allow report to go to Council." Then: "If issues cannot be resolved, consider submitting two reports -- basic report plus a subsequ…

…particular risk 114. The suggestion for a further risk premium over and above this appears to have been made by Duncan Fraser following his review of the Draft Final Business Case. In particular, he felt that the risk allowance of £3.3m for the late arrival of IFC drawings was insufficient given the likelihood of changes, and that neithe…

…but my from perspective, on the technical side, I would have welcomed their inclusion. Q. Moving on, please, Mr Fraser to after the financial close which we see took place on 14 and 15 May 2008. I think Marshall Poulton was appointed as Tram

eing such a letter. 69. In the email I forwarded Gill Lindsay from Duncan Fraser dated 23 August 2007 and found at CEC01567520 Duncan notes that the outcome of the Government's TRI00000054_ C _0030 decision to make the Council "funder of last resort" significantly changed the risk profile of the Council. He further noted that the client d…

…g: ................................................... ....... .. TRI00000096_C _0078 Supplementary Question for Duncan Fraser Question: Can you advise the Inquiry as to the identity of the company liaison officer for each of TIE and TEL, at the that time and if the officer changed, the identity of the successors in that role? Response: I…

…pportunity to jointly participate in design development." What is your response to the point being made here, Mr Fraser, that in short, despite prior informal 191 consultation, CEC are making too many comments, at least in relation to the roads design? A. The Council's technical approvals team had a duty to perform their role in complianc…

…or to the SRO Mr Dave Anderson that all was TRI00000115 C 0011 running to programme and budget. On 3 April 2008, Duncan Fraser sent a letter to Willie Gallagher (copied to you) (CEC01493639) setting out concerns about CEC's technical approval process. He said his concerns were fundamentally the same as those expressed by David Leslie, Dev…

of that document, I think we can have an overview of your professional qualifications. And career, if we look at page 2. You will see towards the bottom, under "Education and development", that in short you have a degree in civil engineering and you are a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, is that correct? A. That's correct. Q.…

…Gill Lindsay's email consequent to it being produced for me by thelinquiry. 189. An email dated 2 May 2008 from Duncan Fraser to Gill Lindsay and others is found at (CEC01222037). Although I appear in the earlier exchanges of the email chain I am not copied into Duncan Fraser's email of 2 May. I note Duncan Fraser TRI00000054_ C _0093

…prudent to seek legal advice before enabling the contractual approval. (SD to copy -- minutes to A Holmes)." Mr Fraser, I will ask the members of the CEC legal team more about the question of independent legal advice. Did you have any view on that aspect, or did you regard that as a matter for the solicitor team? A. I would comment as fo…