Edinbugh city council, its tram firm TIE and the Scottish Government are all blamed for a “litany of avoidable failures” which were responsible for the repeated delays and cost rises on Edinburgh’s tram project, the long-awaited report of Lord Hardie’s inquiry into the scheme said today.
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00:00 So the long-awaited report of the tram inquiry is finally out. Lord Hardy published his findings
00:04 this morning, which is five years after the inquiry finished taking evidence,
00:09 and he blames the City Council, the council's tram firm, Ty, and the Scottish Government
00:16 for what he calls a litany of avoidable failures. In particular, he highlights Ty's failure to
00:23 collaborate effectively with either the City Council or the contractors who were building
00:29 the line, Ty's failure to report progress accurately to the council, and the council's
00:37 failure to monitor progress. And he says that the Scottish Government should not have withdrawn the
00:43 expertise of Transport Scotland after the SNP's bid to scrap the whole thing failed back in 2007.
00:51 Lord Hardy makes a total of 24 recommendations, including one which talks about possible new
00:59 legislation so that civil and criminal sanctions could be applied against relevant individuals or
01:06 companies who knowingly submit reports that include false statements to councillors.
01:12 And he also talks about the effect that the whole thing has had on Edinburgh, and he says that poor
01:21 management and abdication of responsibility on a large scale have had a significant and lasting
01:29 impact on the lives and livelihoods of Edinburgh residents and the reputation of the city.