Introduction

1.1 Purpose

AECOM was commissioned by Transport Scotland (TS) to undertake a series of impact assessments on Scotland’s National Transport Strategy 2 (NTS) Delivery Plans for 2020-2022. This includes the following:

  • Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA)
  • Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA)
  • Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA)
  • Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)
  • Health Inequality Impact Assessment (HIIA)
  • Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA), and
  • Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) (if required)

This report sets out an assessment of health inequality impacts of the strategic policies within the NTS Delivery Plan 2020–22 based on existing evidence and internal engagement with TS and Scottish Government (SG) officers.

1.2 HIIA process

Figure 1-1 sets out the key activities and timescales for undertaking the HIIA. This shows that internal engagement with Scottish Government (SG) officials took place between August and September 2021 to gather as much information as possible about the NTS strategic policies and the actions related to them, as well as the likely impacts.

A screening report was produced prior to a period of consultation between November 2021 and January 2022 on the HIIA and the other impact assessments. The feedback and findings of the consultation have contributed towards completing this full HIIA on the NTS Delivery Plan 2020-22 . A separate Consultation Report has been produced to provide an overview of the consultation process and a summary of responses and feedback.

Figure 1 1 Timeline for HIIA activities
  • August 2021 - HIIA pre-screening report produced
  • August-September 2021 - Internal engagement with TS officers
  • August-September 2021 - HIIA screening report produced
  • November 2021-January 2022 - Public consultation on the HIIA screening report
  • January-April 2022 - Full HIIA for NTS2 delivery plan 2020-22

1.3 The NTS Delivery Plan 2020-2022

NTS sets out the vision for Scotland’s transport system to 2040:

A sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors.

The NTS outlines the four priorities for the transport system: Reduces inequalities; Takes climate action; Helps deliver inclusive economic growth; and Improves health and wellbeing. The Vision and Priorities for NTS are set out in more detail in Figure 1-2.

The first NTS Delivery Plan sets out 199 broad actions the SG is taking to deliver on its vision and priorities to the end of March 2022, taking account of the impact of COVID-19. A full list of these actions is included in Appendix A of this report.

Figure 1 2 Vision for Scotland's transport system over the next 20 years

Our vision

We will have a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system, helping deliver a healthier, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for communities, businesses and visitors.

Reduces inequalities

  • Will provide fair access to services we need
  • Will be easy to use for all
  • Will be affordable for all

Takes climate action

  • Will help deliver our net-zero target
  • Will adapt to the effects of climate change
  • Will promote greener, cleaner choices

Helps deliver inclusive economic growth

  • Will get people and goods where they need to get to
  • Will be reliable, efficient and high quality
  • Will use beneficial innovation

Improves our health and wellbeing

  • Will be safe and secure for all
  • Will enable us to make healthy travel choices
  • Will help make our communities great places to live

The actions within the NTS Delivery Plans will also contribute to achieving the SG’s National Outcomes contained within the National Performance Framework as shown in Figure 1-3.

Figure outlining Scotland's national performance framework. Full information available at link above figure.
Figure 1 3 Scotland’s National Performance Framework

The NTS Delivery Plan was developed through collaboration and consultation with stakeholders across Scotland. In 2021, Transport Scotland established the NTS Forum, which provides an engagement platform composed of the following groups:

  • People’s Panel: representing individuals across Scotland
  • Business Group: including transport businesses and representative organisations, and
  • Cross-Government Steering Group: formed of relevant policy leads and analysts across Scottish Government

Stakeholder engagement will focus on the future transport system in Scotland with regard to the four NTS priorities. The results of these discussions will be published by Transport Scotland for public access.

1.4 Relevant legislation

The HIIA is designed to identify the potential health impacts of each of the actions within the NTS Delivery Plan. Its objective is to maintain or provide opportunities to improve human health for all demographic groups and communities across Scotland and minimise health inequalities.

There is no legislative requirement underpinning the HIIA. The HIIA exceeds Transport Scotland’s legal duty in relation to the Equality Act 2010 by going on to consider the distribution of potential impacts on health inequalities, human rights, socio-economic circumstances and people with protected characteristics (Public Health Scotland, 2021). The Equality Act (including Part 1 of the Equality Act, the Fairer Scotland Duty) has been used as additional guidance for undertaking this assessment, rather than for providing a legal basis for its undertaking. 

Equality Act 2010 and Public Sector Equality Duty

The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination both in the workplace and in wider society. It ensures that individuals with the following nine protected characteristics are not indirectly or directly discriminated against:

  • Age: This refers to persons defined by either a particular age or a range of ages
  • Disability: A disabled person is someone who has a physical or mental impairment (lasting more than a year) that has a substantial adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities
  • Gender Reassignment: This refers to a person who is proposing to undergo, is undergoing, or has undergone a process for the purpose of reassigning their gender identity
  • Marriage and Civil Partnership: Marriage can be between a man and a woman or between two people of the same sex. Civil partners must not be treated less favourably than married couples.
  • Pregnancy and Maternity: Pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant and expecting a baby. Maternity refers to the period after the birth. In the non-work context, protection against maternity discrimination is for 26 weeks after giving birth.
  • Race: Under the Equality Act 2010 race includes colour, nationality (including citizenship) and ethnic or national origins
  • Religion or Belief: Religion means any religion and a reference to religion includes a reference to a lack of religion. Belief means any religious or philosophical belief and a reference to belief includes a reference to a lack of belief.
  • Sex: This refers to a man or to a woman, or to a group of people of the same sex, and
  • Sexual Orientation: this means a person's sexual orientation towards, persons of the same sex, persons of the opposite sex, or persons of either sex.

Section 149 of the Act sets out the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), to which TS is subject in carrying out all its functions, including its consideration of NTS. Those subject to the PSED must, in the exercise of their functions, have due regard to the need to:

  1. Eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this Act
  2. Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it, and
  3. Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

The three aims of the duty apply to all protected characteristics provided for in section 149(7). Although marriage and civil partnership is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act, it is not covered by the PSED and is therefore not considered as part of this HIIA. The Equality Act 2010 explains that having due regard to the second aim involves:

  • Removing or minimising disadvantages affecting people due to their protected characteristics
  • Taking steps to meet the needs of people with certain protected characteristics where these are different from the needs of other people, and
  • Encouraging people with certain protected characteristics to participate in public life or in other activities where their participation is disproportionately low.

The PSED requires public bodies to take proactive measures to address inequality and help contribute to the government’s commitment to tackle disadvantage and discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and encourage good relations between all people.

Fairer Scotland Duty

Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010, the ‘Fairer Scotland Duty’, places a legal responsibility on the relevant authorities to actively consider how they can reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage. TS, when making decisions of a strategic nature about how to exercise its functions, must have due regard to the desirability of exercising them in a way that is designed to reduce the inequalities of outcome which result from socio-economic disadvantage. This differs from the PSED under Section 149 of the Equality Act which considers only reducing inequalities of opportunity.

Public bodies may wish to publish a written assessment under the Fairer Scotland Duty, demonstrating how they have considered inequalities of outcome when making any major strategic decision.

‘The Fairer Scotland Duty - Guidance for Public Bodies’ (Scottish Government, 2021) identifies a need to consider both ‘communities of place’ and ‘communities of interest’ in terms of people who share an experience and are particularly impacted by socio-economic disadvantage.