Latest news with #EdinburghTramInquiry
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Call for law changes to ensure ScotGov public inquiries are effective
It has come as it emerged the Scottish Government has admitted there is no legal requirement to monitor whether lessons learnt recommendations from inquiries are actually acted on. Those inquiries cover 20 years and range from the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, the Vale of Leven Inquiry investigation into the occurrence of C. difficile infection to the the Stockline inquiry into the 2004 explosion at the ICL Plastics factory in Glasgow and the public investigation into the integrity of the fingerprint service. The current cost of all live inquiries has soared thirteen-fold over ten years to stand at nearly £180m and it is estimated the overall costs has reached nearly £250m since 2007. The cost of the five live major inquiries that are currently running eclipses the solitary one that was live ten years ago - and even those costs are spiralling. At the start of last year the live inquiries were costing £120m. Ten years ago the solitary major inquiry at the time into the Edinburgh Tram project came at a total cost of £13m. It was set up to establish why the capital's trams project incurred delays, cost more than originally budgeted and delivered significantly less than was projected. Edinburgh Trams were subject of an inquiry into soaring costs and delays But there are concerns that overall cost figures for inquiries could well be a lot higher as they do not include the costs to government departments, other public bodies and those participating. The Scottish Government was asked by a group of MSPs how many of the 197 recommendations, including 11 interim and a plan of action from a series of public inquiries since 2007 were implemented and what its role is in monitoring and ensuring lessons are learnt. But they were told that the law does not require ministers to act as overseer in this area, even though under the Inquiries Act 2005, the chairman of an inquiry must provide a final report to the ministers, setting out the facts determined by the inquiry panel and any recommendations where its terms of reference lay that out. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, response to questions about which recommendations were actioned did not spell out what of the 200 lessons were actually acted upon from inquiries formally established by ministers. READ MORE by Martin Williams: Why does Scotland hold costly 'lessons learnt' public inquiries Ministers warned over public inquiries secrecy as taxpayer cost soars by £60m in a year Swinney urged to act over 'stalled' lifeline funding of ferry fiasco firm Revealed: £400k public cost of ScotGov Euro 2028 ticket tout ban that 'won't work' 'People going bananas': New ferry fiasco hits vital island supplies 'Stretched to breaking': Nation loses 800 officers since formation of Police Scotland Instead she states that the Act "does not contain any provision for centrally monitoring over whether the accepted inquiry recommendations are actually implemented". And she added: "There is no legal obligation to respond to a report." The questions related to recommendations of concluded public inquiries since 2007, and also include the Penrose infected blood probe. She further states in answer to questions about what lessons have been learnt, that in practice, an area of government "will be identified as responsible for taking forward recommendations (where appropriate) and ensuring delivery where they are accepted". She said recommendations may also be made by an inquiry relating to other parties, such as public bodies, "which would be for their consideration". The current cost of the two live inquiries into health-related issues including the Covid-19 pandemic currently stands at £64.3m. There were no live health-related public inquiries ten years ago, although in the decade previously, there were two which together cost £22.8m. Over £12m of legal and administrative costs has been incurred by NHS bodies alone responding to public inquiries since 2021. NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) which is a core participant in the long-running Scottish Covid-19 pandemic inquiry and has participated in two further public probes says it has spent £3.1m since 2021/22 in responding to public inquiries through legal and other administrative costs. On top of that a further £9m in legal services for public inquiries was provided to NHS Scotland boards by the NSS's Central Legal Office. NSS, which reports directly to the Scottish Government, and works at the heart of Scotland's health service, providing national strategic support services and expert advice to NHS Scotland, suggested an independent advisory body could be established to decide whether a public inquiry should be held and hold to account those probes that did go ahead. It suggested that the current processes for monitoring public inquiry costs are "inadequate" saying that they are not reimbursed "or reported consistently". The NSS said that the advisory body could have a role in assessing the costs. "Tight terms of reference are essential when a public inquiry is established to ensure value for money" they said. NSS said that the inquiries' effectiveness "can vary considerably". It said that work was needed to look at each concluded inquiry in Scotland against its terms of reference and examine what the has been achieved. It said that that would allow effectiveness "to be measured in more detail". It said a new advisory body could examine what opportunities there area for learning lessons, whether it would be effective and whether it would be value for money. It could also ensure a consistency of approach and oversee costs that are incurred. And it suggested that a law could be introduced to ensure that lessons are learnt from public inquiries, indicating that in terms of lessons learnt "consistency and cascading out can be challenging". The independent advisory body could "support consistency in cascading lessons learned". Section 28 of the Fatal Accidents and Sudden Death etc (Scotland) Act 2016 introduced a requirement that those to whom recommendations are directed must provide a response within eight weeks to set out what changes have been made or are proposed. Alternatively it has to provide the reasons why no action is being taken. It suggested a similar law that is brought in for public inquiries "requiring participants in public inquiries to report to parliament with their written response to the inquiries' reports". Lord Hardie, the man in charge of the Edinburgh tram probe has admitted there were limitations when inquiries like the one he oversaw was established by the Scottish Government as non-statutory, which he says he was not consulted over. He has said in correspondence seen by the Scottish Government that this led to him being unable to access material held by the City of Edinburgh Council and resulted in the refusal of key witnesses to co-operate. The most expensive and longest running of the current probes is the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry into historical abuse of children in residential care that was formally established in October 2015 - ten months after the Scottish Government announced that it would happen. Concerns have been raised about delays and mounting costs - which was running at £78.211m at the start of last year and has risen to £95.3m as of March 2025. The second most expensive live public probe is the Scottish Covid-19 inquiry which started in August 2022 to examine Scotland's response to and the impact of the pandemic and to learn lessons for the future. It had run up costs of £12.816m by the start of last year. And by December last year it was at £34m. The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry chaired by Lord Brodie QC which is examining issues of safety and wellbeing issues at two Scots health establishments had cost £14.33m at the start of last year after opening in August 2020. It had risen to £23.6m in December 2024. It is examining complaints around the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) in Glasgow, and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (RHCYP) and Department of Clinical Neurosciences in Edinburgh. Its final report is expected to be issued at the end of next year after calls for further evidence. The latest inquiry into Sam Eljamel, who harmed dozens of patients and left some with life-changing injuries, was launched last month and has racked up £1.08m in costs so far - before hearing any evidence. Mr Eljamel was head of neurosurgery at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital until his suspension in December 2013. He resigned a year later and is now believed to be operating in Libya. At the start of last year, the Herald revealed the cost of live inquiries at that point was at £120m, while the Scottish Parliament launched an inquiry last month into their cost effectiveness last month. MSPs are to further consider the role of public inquiries today. Research suggests the total cost of all public inquiries launched over the last 18 years, in today's prices, is at £230m so far. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Public inquiries are set up when no other avenue is deemed sufficient given the issues of public concern. In many cases, such as the Scottish Covid Inquiry, they are set up with the support of, or in response to calls from, the Scottish Parliament. "Public inquiries operate independently of government and the chair has a statutory duty to avoid unnecessary costs.'
Edinburgh Reporter
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Why did the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry take so long?
Lord Hardie who was charged with conducting the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry (ETI) which cost millions and was much delayed, has responded citing operational difficulties with accommodation and internet as the reasons for some of the delay. The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry report was delivered nine years after it was instructed by then First Minister, Alex Salmond at a cost of more than £13 million. His Lordship submitted evidence to the parliamentary Finance and Public Administration Committee on Tuesday. In advance of the committee meeting at Holyrood the retired judge sent a written submission which covered many of the practical issues, saying these were reasons for the delay. He said: 'Following my appointment as chair of ETI, I had to identify suitable premises with the assistance of the Solicitor to the Inquiry, whom I had appointed immediately following my appointment, and other civil servants unconnected with the ETI. This issue is addressed in chapter 2 of my Report. I was offered and accepted the use of premises that were surplus to requirements of Creative Scotland. The rent was paid by the Scottish Government and the office premises had the appearance of a modern office with adequate IT connections. The appearance was deceptive and for almost 6 months staff at ETI struggled with inadequate IT connections which frequently failed. 'The effect on staff morale was significant and there was a considerable waste of time and money during that time. In the Report I refer to the fiasco of Vodafone failing to install a cable on different occasions for different reasons and failing to link the portals to a newly installed cabinet. 'Apart from accommodation it was necessary to appoint a Secretary whose early tasks included staffing the Inquiry office with document coders, an IT manager and others. Many of the staff were agency workers while others were civil servants electing to transfer to ETI. Because of civil service procedures the delay in civil servants, including the Secretary, moving to ETI resulted in delay to the initial progress of the Inquiry. The process of setting up the Inquiry with accommodation, staff and other resources gave the impression of our reinventing the wheel. There was little or no guidance to assist with this stage of the Inquiry. 'My first recommendation of 24 in my Report was that 'Scottish Ministers should undertake a review of public inquiries to determine the most cost-effective method of avoiding delay in the establishment of an inquiry, including consideration of establishing a dedicated unit within the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service [SCTS] and publishing regularly updated guidance for people involved in the establishment and progress of public inquiries.' Net costs Lord Hardie also recommended that in any future inquiries the costs should be reported net – and he gave his reasons why the net cost of £8.7 million was the more representative cost of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry. He said: 'Wherever possible and in the interests of economy regarding public expenditure I used resources that had already been funded by the public purse. These included the cost of accommodation which was vacant and where the Scottish Government was the tenant and had sub-let it to a government department or agency. 'It also included the salaries of permanent civil servants who had transferred to the ETI and whose posts in their former department were not filled. Although these costs were added to the costs of the ETI as an accounting exercise, the public purse did not incur any additional expense. I am aware that not all public inquiries have adopted a similar approach. For example some may use accommodation that is not already available within the Scottish Government's portfolio of leased but vacant property; some may also use more staff recruited from outside the civil service. 'In these examples the costs will be included in the costs of the inquiry and will be additional expenditure incurred by the public purse. As I explained in my video release of the ETI Report, if the expenditure on resources already funded by the public purse was deducted from the cost of ETI, the cost at that time would have reduced from £13.1 million to £8.7 million.' Lord Hardie Chair of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Professor Sandy Cameron Professor Sandy Cameron, CBE, who is currently Independent Chair of the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice, gave evidence to the committee in person. He was involved in the Jersey care inquiry which was supposed to last six months and cost £6 million – but it took two years and cost £23 million. Asked about the apparently enormous cost of that inquiry he was asked if lawyers are motivated to keep the cost to a minimum. He replied: 'Legal colleagues work very much on the basis of doing what they believe that they need to do, rather than looking at how to contain and manage costs. The expectation is, 'This needs to be done. We will do it and we'll keep going until it's done.' There is a reluctance to look at other ways in which they might have done it and other ways in which they could have contained costs. To some extent, that is about the way in which legal colleagues always practice.' Professor Cameron said in his written submission that he can 'confidently predict that … inquiries will last longer than anticipated and cost more than budgeted for'. He suggested to the committee that there must be another way of conducting inquiries which 'manage the costs more effectively and deliver more rapidly for people'. He explained that the public 'lose interest' when inquiries last for a long time, and for inquiries involving survivors or victims there is 'the issue of how long it feels for them that the inquiry is taking to get to a conclusion'. The cost to the public purse in the last years has been considerable – some £91.9 million on the child abuse inquiry and £34 million on the Scottish Covid Inquiry. Michael Marra MSP who sits on the committee posed the question as to whether it might be possible to set up a judge-led public inquiry unit. Any instructions would then be sent to that unit to set up more quickly and also to keep tabs on finances. But Professor Cameron was not convinced that any such body should be judge led. He said that he thinks there is good reason for looking at an alternative to public inquiries, but explained to Craig Hoy MSP that it is important that there is a degree of independence in reviewing the outcome of any recommendations of any inquiry. Like this: Like Related
