Statement of current levels of shared service/cluster project activity within Transport Scotland in the period
Shared services/cluster project working is a key element of Transport Scotland’s efficiency agenda, and we are committed to achieving quality public services that are valued by their customers and that realise efficiencies by employing best business practice and improved collaborative working.
Transport Scotland shares the following services and systems of the Scottish Government: Information and Communications, Human Resources, Estates, Payments, Financial Reporting and Payroll. In addition, Transport Scotland also shares services with other authorities, such as the Road Asset Valuation System.
Transport Scotland’s policy is to use collaborative contracts, such as the ones awarded by Scottish Procurement, wherever practicable. Cash savings of £1,380,632 were delivered in 2022-23 (2021-22: £1,739,617) through expenditure of just over £10 million (2021-22: £11 million) on Scottish Procurement-led collaborative contracts and frameworks, thereby contributing to the Scottish Government’s efficiency savings targets.
We aim to work in partnership with communities and to deliver social benefits across Scotland as a consequence of our work. We have been able to demonstrate this in a number of ways during 2022-23.
Women and girls’ safety on public transport
In 2022, the Minister for Transport announced that the Scottish Government would consult on the safety of women and girls when using public transport. In response to this, social researchers from Transport Scotland designed and delivered an innovative research programme on the issue of women and girls’ safety on public transport. For the first time, the programme brought together the views of women and girls who use and work on the public transport network, making recommendations geared to improving transport accessibility and therefore women’s mobility, and also operational issues for female transport staff. The final research report was published in March 2023 Women's and girls' views and experiences of personal safety when using public transport | Transport Scotland. This features ten recommendations for the Scottish Government, Local Authorities, Police Scotland, and the British Transport Police. The recommendations were the focus of a parliamentary debate, with a motion passed in the Scottish Parliament to note the recommendations and to take this forward on a cross party basis. The work highlights that safety is a concern for women and girls who use or work on public transport as part of their day to day lives. The research concludes that women and girls are being forced to adapt their own behaviour and change their travel habits in order to feel safe on public transport. Safety concerns affect women and girls’ mobility and therefore access to services, social and cultural events, and employment. The recommendations that will be taken forward aim to improve this and bring benefits to women and girls across the country by:
- Improving access and use of public transport – by improving awareness of available tools and support for women and girls who feel vulnerable on public transport; and promoting safe home from work options for transport workers.
- Addressing key concerns of women and girls – by looking at strengthening rules around permissible behaviour and increasing penalties for non-compliance.
- Encouraging relevant organisations to support this agenda – by having effective safeguarding practices in place.
The research has also fed into wider polices such as that on Violence Against Women and Girls, helping to shape interventions which will bring further benefits for women and girls across Scotland.
A9 Dualling Programme
Ahead of the main construction work, a number of social, community and educational benefits have been delivered as part of advance works contracts related to enabling works near Tomatin Distillery and archaeological investigations.
Advance Works
As part of the advance works near Tomatin Distillery the contractor delivered the following:
- 1 completed university placement
- 14 qualifications achieved by the workforce
- 4 jobs advertised and filled through the local job centre
- 6 contracts awarded to Small to Medium Enterprises to the combined value of £500,000; and
- 1 supply contract awarded to Social Enterprises to the value of £8000.
The project also delivered a number of community engagement activities to benefit the local area including a community enhancement project for the Strathdearn Community Development Trust, which included fencing, installation of a culvert and drainage works to assist with a local community housing project, meetings with the local community council to provide regular contact and updates on the project. In addition, felled timber was donated to a local firewood business, excavated tree stumps were donated to a local sawmill and excavated peat was donated to a local mushroom farm.
Academy9
We continue to deliver the award-winning, Academy9 educational initiative. In addition to promoting learning in relation to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects in schools, the programme increases pupils’ awareness of civil engineering-related careers. Academy9 has this year continued its events with over two hundred pupil and thirty teacher engagements, bringing the total to date to over 7,300 pupil and 890 teacher engagements along the length of the A9.
We continued to deliver an educational programme during the Covid-19 pandemic by digitising some of our core events, where appropriate and practicable, and creating some new online events, both further aligning with the Scottish Government’s digital e-learning and teaching strategy. As a result, we now offer a more flexible delivery programme.
Now that schools and their teachers and senior management teams throughout the A9 Dualling corridor have returned to a stabilised curriculum, the Academy9 team are delighted to be back in schools delivering a full programme of events and activities in the current academic year.
Academy9’s ‘Sustainable Solutions – Roads of the Future Challenge – a challenge’ event (for Primary and Secondary pupils) is based on the UNs Sustainable Development Goals. Following a successful event during COP 26 in November 2021, involving schools from the A9 Dualling corridor Glasgow and Birmingham, another event was held at the end of May 2023.
Demonstrating that Academy9 is an award-winning initiative, we have been shortlisted in the ‘Best Practice-Knowledge Sharing’ category at the CIEEM (Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management) Awards 2023 which are to be held in Birmingham in June 2023.
Lynebeg ecological pond
We have also funded a package of advance works undertaken on our behalf by Network Rail to deliver a replacement rail bridge at Lynebeg. As part of these works, a replacement ecological pond was constructed to help protect the habitat that supports a rare sub-species of the caddisfly to enable its future translocation to the new pond.
The works also included landscaping works such as wetland planting to further benefit the wider ecology in the area. Work finished in June 2022 and the habitat has time to establish before existing pond vegetation and features will be translocated.
A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton and A9/A82 Longman Junction Improvement Schemes
As part of the delivery of the A9/A82 Longman Junction Improvement and A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton schemes, Transport Scotland and their consultant, Jacobs, have engaged with several schools and local organisations to provide educational support, supply equipment and to facilitate STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) related activities. Engagement has been carried out with a significant number of schools within Inverness and the surrounding areas which has been well received by pupils and teachers alike. In addition to direct engagement with schools, the projects have also facilitated engagement at events or with local organisations, such as the Inverness Science Festival, the Highland Celebration of Engineering, the Highland Home Education Group, a Beaver colony, pre-schools, after school clubs and career fairs.
A92/A96 Haudagain Junction Improvement Project
The project has provided 145 community engagement activities, sixteen work placements for school pupils, college and university students and employment opportunities for seven apprentices and five graduates. The project continued to provide community benefits through into Spring 2022, with active travel interactive events with local schools.