Following months of negotiations, an interim report was published this week by Audit Scotland and appeared to question the competency of council-owned tram company Tie, which has been hit by a series of high-profile departures as work on the £545 million project has ground to a halt.
Tie insisted it had experienced normal levels of staff turnover and insisted the report referred to a “future risk” of staff leaving.
However, it is understood a draft contained no such qualifications, stating: “A number of key staff have left Tie in recent months, creating the risk that it may lack the necessary skills and experience to complete the project.”
The final report, originally due to be published last year, cut the reference to “key” staff and added “others may also leave”. It stated: “A number of staff have left Tie in recent months and others may also leave creating a risk that it may lack the necessary skills and experience to complete the project.”
It is claimed removing the word “key” and inserting “others may also leave” shifts the spotlight from Tie and its staff, giving an impression the skills to finish the project might not be in question.
The revelation has provoked questions over whether Tie, which was in discussions with Audit Scotland for several months over the report, had tried to water down its findings.
The company has seen a number of senior staff leave in recent months, including Graeme Bissett, an advisor to the Tie board; Stewart McGarrity, the finance and performance director; construction manager Bob Bell; Mark Hamill, a risk manager; construction director Graeme Barclay; and HR manager Claire Malecki.
David Mackay, chairman of Tie, quit last November, branding parts of the project “hell on wheels” and blaming lead contractor Bilfinger Berger for problems that have led to delays of at least two years and a funding gap of about £100m.
A source at the company admitted recent departures had hit morale and further resignations were likely.
“There is a danger you can leave yourself short if there are too many senior people leaving the organisation. The question is: is it one or two or is it just the beginning?” the source said.
John Carson, a former director of maintenance at Network Rail and long-standing critic of the trams project, accused Audit Scotland of “pulling punches”.
“The way this report has been drafted and redrafted makes a mockery of the process used by Audit Scotland to consult with Tie, Transport Scotland and senior officials at City of Edinburgh Council,” he said.
“Audit Scotland are there to look after the public purse.”
The Audit Scotland findings come as it was revealed Tie employs six senior staff members who earn more than the First Minister, including communications director Mandy Haeburn-Little, who is paid more than £120,000 a year.
A spokeswoman for Tie said yesterday: “We have a highly skilled workforce and if large numbers leave this would obviously alter our skillset. However, we do not expect this to happen, we have a very low turnover and people here are dedicated to what we are aiming to achieve.
“It’s normal for reports of this nature to go through a drafting process and for contributors to be given sight and make their comments. It is however for the report authors to decide whether to accept any changes.”
An Audit Scotland spokesman said: “We take great care to make sure that our reports are accurate and properly reflect the evidence available to us. All our reports go through a drafting and fact-checking process to ensure this.
“The final report contains our considered findings.”
