ETI-18 Response Accepted

Interviews of Key Personnel in Readiness Reviews

Recommendation

As part of their investigations, representatives of OGC undertaking an independent “readiness review” of a publicly funded project and representatives of any person, including representatives of any public body such as Audit Scotland, undertaking a review of the progress of and/or expenditure on a project funded in whole or in part by public funds should interview key personnel involved in the project to ensure that each of them understands his or her role and is performing it effectively. In preparing any list of key personnel to be interviewed, the individuals undertaking the investigations shall include the person designated as SRO.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In November 2023, the Council stated it broadly agreed with Lord Hardie's recommendations, noting improvements in communication and reporting had been implemented for Trams to Newhaven (City of Edinburgh Council response, November 2023).
- The Council committee report (16 November 2023) stated that the Council agreed to support any future readiness review or audit to ensure clear understanding of progress and reporting (City of Edinburgh Council Committee Report, 16 November 2023).
- No published formal framework for mandatory progress reporting and escalation procedures in major publicly funded projects has been identified to March 2026.
Sources
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The evidence above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Section Reference
Chapter 25 Recommendation 18 (paragraph 25.230)
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 3.1 yrs
Last formal update 1031 days ago