Chamber and committees

Lord Hardie, the Inquiry Chair, is progressing the inquiry with work under way to set up inquiry premises and office space, to make contact with potential interested parties and to collect documentation. Lord Hardie advises me that the inquiry has not received all of the participation it requires. In response to this advice, I have instructed the conversion of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry from a non-statutory to a statutory inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005. Making the inquiry statutory will allow Lord Hardie to compel the production of evidence and the participation of witnesses and enable a robust final report to be prepared. Lord Hardie has given me assurances that neither the costs nor the amount of time required to run this inquiry will be increased by a change to operating on a statutory basis. I continue to attach great importance to an inquiry that is quick, efficient and cost effective.