ETI-18 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Effective Communication and Reporting

Recommendation

There should be effective communication and reporting at all stages of the project, including accurate progress reports to councillors and stakeholders, with clear escalation procedures for issues that may affect cost, programme or scope.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Chief Executive's report to Transport and Environment Committee, the City of Edinburgh Council accepted this recommendation on 16 November 2023, agreeing to support any future readiness review or audit of publicly funded projects to ensure a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities (Chief Executive's report to Transport and Environment Committee, 16 Nov 2023). While the Council Leader stated that improvements were already implemented for the Trams to Newhaven project (Council news release, 2 Nov 2023), no specific new internal communication protocols, reporting standards, or clear escalation procedures have been identified in public sources since the Council's response.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.gov.scot, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Accepted
Under Consideration City of Edinburgh Council Initial Response
02 Nov 2023

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.

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Accepted City of Edinburgh Council Follow-up
16 Nov 2023

While this Recommendation is for third parties who may undertake a readiness review or audit of a publicly funded project in future, it is recommended that the Council agrees to support any such review or audit to ensure that there is a clear understanding of roles and responsibilities. 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.

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Progress Timeline
Official Report
02 Nov 2023

Initial status based on Scottish Government and City of Edinburgh Council responses to the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report (September 2023).

Source
Source
Inquiry Edinburgh Tram Inquiry
Report Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report 01 Aug 2023
View Source
Responsible Bodies
City of Edinburgh Council Primary
Themes & Tags
Public project assurance methodology Major Project Scope Uncertainty Ineffective Staff Deployment Major project lessons learned Communication Reporting Escalation
Recommendation age 2.6 yrs
Last formal update 859 days ago