Engaging with partners

While our Delivery Plans focus on actions being taken by the Scottish Government, a collaborative approach across all partners and sectors remains crucial to ensure successful delivery and progress towards our vision.

We carried out a range of engagement activities during the development of the Strategy. Four thematic working groups, each co-chaired by Transport Scotland and an external partner, were established to focus on the priorities and members included representatives from over 60 partner organisations. We held almost 100 in-person stakeholder events which reached over 6,500 people in rural, island and urban areas across Scotland, including community forums and Citizens’ Panels. Our engagement activity also included a formal public consultation in 2019.

In the post-COVID-19 era, it is vital to recognise that the successful delivery of the vision and priorities depends ever more importantly on shared delivery across all sectors and the ongoing collaborative approach with partners. In that context, we continue our positive engagement with a wide range of individuals, businesses and third sector organisations.

National Transport Strategy Delivery Board

The Delivery Board, established in October 2020, is co-chaired by the Minister for Transport and COSLA and brings together senior partners from across the transport sector to be accountable for the successful delivery of the Strategy.

Board members include representatives from Regional Transport Partnerships, the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE), the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) and the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers (ATCO). 

Membership and minutes from each meeting are published on the Transport Scotland website.

Transport Business Group

The Business Group was established in 2021 and includes representatives of associations for transport providers and wider interests from across the business sector. The group’s purpose is to share experiences and expertise and to support the delivery of the four priorities, but particularly to help to deliver inclusive economic growth.

Members include the Airport Operators Association, British Ports Association, Chambers of Commerce, Confederation of Passenger Transport, Logistics UK, Rail Freight Group, Road Haulage Association, Visit Scotland, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Scottish Engineering, Technology Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.

People’s Panel

Between October 2021 and January 2022, a People’s Panel met on four occasions to bring together individuals from across Scotland to consider issues highlighted under the four priorities, strengthen our evidence base and identify possible policy initiatives. The findings from the People’s Panel were published in October 2022.

Equality Group

As an agency of the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland is responsible for ensuring that any policy decision about service delivery is made taking full account of all equality issues.

Established in June 2020, the Transport Equalities Network was set up in response to the need for real time evidence and data gathering to reflect the lived experience and movements of the people of Scotland during the pandemic. By working virtually with the Network we were able to gather real time data and evidence through stakeholder organisations using surveys and other engagement tools. This provided valuable insights which fed in to the Transport Transition Plan Equality Impact Assessment and the Scottish Government’s Route Map.

We continue to engage with a wide range of organisations on equality issues including Disability Equality Scotland, Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and will shortly be re-establishing the Equality Network.

Our engagement with stakeholders helps to ensure that, where data exists, our data is current and our evidence is therefore reflective of the lived experiences of users of the current transport system. With this, we can improve our approach and fulfil our statutory obligation under the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 to support a rights-based approach to the Strategy.

Regional Transport Partnerships

Scotland’s seven Regional Transport Partnerships are in the process of developing their Regional Transport Strategies, which must align with our national vision and priorities and provide a detailed overview of their priorities and actions. As of November 2023, Ministers have approved three out of seven of these Strategies. 

Local Transport Strategies

Draft Local Transport Strategy guidance has been issued for consultation with stakeholders including local authorities, COSLA, SCOTS, public agencies and advocacy groups. Local Transport Strategies offer an opportunity for local authorities to set priorities, agenda, direction and process for change at the local level.

This review of the draft guidance is intended to support local authorities as they develop and implement their strategies at a local level. A working group is being established following the analysis of the consultation and finalised guidance will be published during the period of this plan.