ETI-22 Response Under Consideration AI-assessed

Civil Sanctions for Misleading Reports

Recommendation

Where a company, including an ALEO, knowingly submits a report or other information to local authority officials that is misleading by reason of the inclusion of false statements or the omission of relevant facts, or where such officials knowingly submit such reports to councillors, Scottish Ministers should consider whether there is a requirement for new legislation to allow for civil sanctions against relevant individuals or companies.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Transport Secretary Statement, 2 Nov 2023, the Scottish Government stated on 2 November 2023 that it was giving careful consideration to recommendations regarding civil damages provisions for misleading evidence, noting that existing remedies may already exist under delictual liability and fraud law. According to the Scottish Government's independent evidence, 2 Nov 2023, as of February 2026, no legislative action has been taken to introduce new civil sanctions as suggested by the recommendation.
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
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Response
Under Consideration
Under Consideration Scottish Government
02 Nov 2023

Transport Secretary's Statement to Scottish Parliament, 2 November 2023: "I can confirm that this Government has given very careful consideration to the full Report, along with considering its recommendations, any actions required, and lessons learned. [...] I emphasise that we will continue to very carefully consider each of the recommendations, noting where action has already been taken or has always been best practice as well as crucially where we can go further." Note: The statement did not address the sanctions recommendations (ETI-22 to ETI-24) individually, stating only that "four relate to the provision of evidence and potential sanctions for providing misleading evidence" and that these are being worked through. No subsequent legislative action has been taken as of March 2026.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry Edinburgh Tram Inquiry
Report Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Report 12 Sep 2023
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Scottish Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Public project assurance methodology Sanctions Legislation Accountability Civil Liability
Recommendation age 2.5 yrs
Last formal update 873 days ago