THE cost of the public inquiry into the Edinburgh Trams overspend scandal has soared to £3.7 million before any oral hearings have taken place.
Chaired by Lord Hardie, the retired judge and former Lord Advocate, the inquiry was set up two years ago by the then First Minister Alex Salmond after the cost of the trams project went vastly over budget. The final cost of the truncated trams system came in at an official figure of £776m, though interest payments on the sums borrowed by Edinburgh City Council to complete the project will take the cost to nearer £1 billion.
The original cost was supposed to be £375m for three lines, and whenin 2007 the SNP minority government decided to veto the project, the other parties voted to force it through even though the cost had soared to £500m.
The Scottish Government then refused to give any more funds, meaning the council had to borrow the cash to finish the project. A Freedom of Information request by BBC Scotland uncovered the facts that 25 people have been employed by the inquiry and six million documents have been gathered so far.
Transport Scotland confirmed that £1.822m had been spent on staffing costs, while legal fees are already at £716,000 and set to rise.
IT costs are put at £540,000 so far, with accommodation at £502,000.
Miles Briggs, Conservative list MSP for the Lothians, told the BBC: “Edinburgh taxpayers are quite rightly angry that the Edinburgh Trams inquiry has gone on for so long and at such a cost to the taxpayer.
“It is essential that lessons are learnt from the inquiry and that the findings should be reported back as soon as possible so we can see what went wrong during the original project. Too often public infrastructure contracts are allowed to overrun.”
A spokesman for the inquiry said that it was making “good progress”, adding: “Lord Hardie’s priority is to conduct a thorough investigation into the Edinburgh tram project and produce a report and recommendations that ensure lessons are learned for future major infrastructure projects.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have been clear from the outset that the inquiry should be efficient and cost-effective, however, we know that major infrastructure projects do generate large quantities of documentation, and we understand the inquiry team has already gathered over six million documents. Lord Hardie and his team is firmly committed to discerning the facts in a robust and thorough manner.”
Speaking to The National, Edinburgh’s Transport Convener, Councillor Lesley Hinds, said: “There has always been cross-party support for the tram inquiry – we want to learn lessons and we will continue to provide assistance where necessary. However, we also hope there will soon be a timescale for receiving its findings.”
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