Inquiries Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Reported
Government response Scottish Government: Under consideration (Nov 2023)
Delivery No statement from Scottish Government found

ETI-2: Inquiry Independence

From Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report, published 19 September 2023.

Recommendation

In any event Scottish Ministers should not appoint as the sponsor of any public inquiry any department, agency or other government organisation where it, or any of its employees, has had any involvement in the project or other event giving rise to the establishment of the public inquiry.

Jurisdiction: Scotland
Reference: Chapter 2 Recommendation 2 (paragraph 2.100)

In brief (written by this site)

In November 2023, Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition Màiri McAllan stated that the Scottish Government was working through the recommendations, adding that "additional guidance similar to that suggested is already in development" regarding the establishment and delivery of public inquiries and had been shared with recent inquiries as they were established (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. The record below is the sources' own words.

Government response

Under consideration Scottish Government
2 Nov 2023
Response document: Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report: Transport Secretary statement
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)

We are working through all of these recommendations, but I can report that additional guidance similar to that suggested is already in development with reference to the efficient establishment and delivery of public inquiries and has been shared with recent inquiries as they have been established.

How this response relates to the recommendation

Site note: The statement gives this passage once, for the four recommendations it says refer to the establishment and delivery of public inquiries. Recommendation 4 carries the Cabinet Secretary's answer on it in the chamber the same day, so the same words are recorded on ETI-1, ETI-2 and ETI-3.

Delivery

No statement on delivery from Scottish Government has been found in the sources searched (last checked 31 January 2026). This is separate from the response above.

Source

Inquiry Edinburgh Tram Inquiry
Report Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report 19 Sep 2023
View Source

Responsible bodies

Scottish Government Primary

Themes and tags

Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Public project assurance methodology Public Inquiries Independence Conflicts of Interest

Who has spoken

  • Scottish Government
    Response
Recommendation made 3.1 years ago