Road Safety Strategic Partnership Board - meeting minutes - 30 October 2024

Members

  • Fiona Hyslop (Co-Chair CS) - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
  • Hugh Gillies (Co-Chair HG) - Transport Scotland (TS) - Director of Roads
  • George Henry (GH) – TS – Head of Roads Policy and Safety
  • Gary Ritchie (GR) – Police Scotland
  • Kenneth Barbour (KB) – Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS)
  • Robert Nicol (RN) – Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)

In Attendance

  • Councillor Gail MacGregor (GM) – Spokesperson for Environment and Economy - COSLA
  • Donald Morrison (DM) – TS – Head of Asset Management and Procurement
  • Stewart Leggett (SL) – TS - Head of Operations
  • Ben McKenna (BM) – TS – Road Safety Policy
  • Steven Feeney (SF) – TS – Road Safety Policy
  • Michelle Van der stighelen (MVdS) – TS – Safety Camera Programme
  • Andrew Paterson (AP) – TS – Statistics
  • Ryan Gilbert (RG) – TS – Strategic Communications Manager (Roads)
  • Vincent Fisher (VF) – Police Scotland
  • Laura Cotton (LC) – Police Scotland
  • Ed Gordon (EG) – COSLA
  • Christine Francis (CF) – Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS)
  • Oliver Harding (OH) – National Health Service (NHS)

Apologies

  • Hilary Sloan – Police Scotland
  • Colin Park - SCOTS
  • Graham Foster - NHS

Secretariat

  • Hannah Wood (HW) – TS – Road Safety Policy
  • Hannah Green (HG) – TS – Road Safety Policy

Welcome and Introductions/Previous Minutes and Actions

Co-Chair HG welcomed everyone to the meeting, and proceeded with round the table introductions. The SPB will now meet 4 times per year and it was noted that this is the first of the interim meetings.

The previous minutes were circulated and no comments received, these have since been published.

All actions stemming from the last meeting have been completed or will be picked up at the next meeting in December.

An agreed action for all members to meet with Cabinet Secretary for Transport is ongoing. There have been 1-2-1 meetings with Police Scotland, COSLA and SCOTS however the remaining two meetings with NHS and Scottish Fire and Rescue are to be scheduled.

Action Point 109: Secretariat to arrange remaining 1-2-1 meetings with Cabinet Secretary for Transport. 

Owner: Secretariat 

Police Management Information Data

The latest management information data was provided, highlighting that Police Scotland is continuing to monitor the analytical data to identify trends in activity and investigate how they can be prevented. Police Scotland continue to work with operational partners on emerging trends and threats.

When discussing trends and comparing data to previous years, GR advised that Police Scotland is analysing trends on fatal collisions, which will include looking at the effect campaigns have had on casualties, and taking a deep dive into contributory factors. A discussion followed around how it would be beneficial to complete an in depth analysis of the contributory factors, comparing this year to previous years. 

The Board agreed with the broad view that there has been a negative decline on driver behaviours since the pandemic. GH highlighted that the In Depth Fatality Research is now undertaking research in to fatalities between 2020-2023, which will allow us to analyse and see if there has been a change post pandemic, particularly on driving behaviour. 

Members agreed to take cognisance of longer term trends, as anomalies and fluctuations can occur year on year.

Action Point 110: TS Stats to do an in depth analysis of the contributory factors, comparing this year to previous years.

Owner: Andrew Paterson.

Delivery Plan – Update on Deliverables

An overview of the deliverables contained in the 2023/24 delivery plan that were red/amber at the time of the last meeting were provided. An update on the current position of each of these deliverable was provided, highlighting if they were on track.

Comms Handling Plan

RG advised that a Communications Handling Plan has been developed to detail plans to promote road safety investment and efforts to enhance road safety in Scotland.

The Board noted that the aim of the Plan is to promote road safety investment and showcase what is being delivered as part of the record £36m investment into road safety. The Plan is also there for stakeholders to promote any activity, highlighting the importance of a joined up partnership approach. Recent successes include the temporary deployment of two average speed camera systems on the A82 and A836 which forms part of the NC500. It was also noted that there had been significant coverage of the recent announcement of £14m to assist local authorities enhance road safety across the local road network. RG also highlighted that the finalised Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2023 was published on 30 October 2024.

It was noted that steps will continue to be taken to promote road safety activity over the coming months including road safety campaigns and a public consultation on changes to national speed limits.

RG offered to support member organisation highlight their work and activity. It was agreed that members would consider and advise of any future comms promotions which could be assisted with national level comms support by TS.

Action Point 111: Members to provide any comms promotion that TS can assist with through the comms handling plan.

Co-Chair Remarks

Co-Chair CS highlighted the press release that was published on 8 October, that set out the scale of the current road safety challenge and what would be deliver during the remainder of 2024/25 through the record £36m investment in road safety. Co-Chair CS also highlighted a recent meeting with her UK Government counterpart, Lillian Greenwood, Minister for the Future of Roads where a number of reserved matters were discussed, including the possible UK adoption of the EU General Safety Regulations, the delivery of a pilot for Graduated Driving Licence and the issue of fitness to drive with regards to older road users. Co-Chair CS also noted that the UK Government intend to develop their own Road Safety Strategy and that they will liaise with devolved administrations, including the Scottish Government, on the development of this.

Co-Chair CS, added that they recently chaired the A9 Safety Group where key road safety issues pertaining to this section of the trunk road network was discussed.

It was noted by the Board that His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) report on their thematic inspection into roads policing will be published in the coming weeks.

Partner Updates

Members provided an update on their road safety activity with the following points being highlighted:

NHS

  • Continuing to work with Public Health, linking into operational and regional groups.
  • Held meetings with the Scottish Directors of Public Health Group which will allow the opportunity to raise Road Safety higher up the agenda and also as a public health issue.

CoSLA

  • Cllr MacGregor highlighted the importance of road safety having political leadership.
  • A paper was recently taken to the CoSLA board on developments in Road Safety and the concerns for the increase in road casualties was highlighted. It was noted that further action within local government is needed in order to meet the 2030 casualty reduction targets.
  • Further work will be concentrated within the area of behaviour change.
  • Noted the importance of continuing a good working relationship and having a collaborative approach with TS road safety and active travel.

Police Scotland

  • HMICS thematic review into Roads Policing has been completed and the report is due to be published over the coming weeks. The findings of the report will be reviewed and Police Scotland has set up a working group to review the recommendations from the report. It was noted that there will be a role for SPB members to inform this and that the Cabinet Secretary will be updated accordingly.
  • Fixed Penalty noticed will be introduced, meaning officer won’t need to attend court, freeing up Police time and resources.
  • Police Scotland continue to run a National Campaign calendar, noting the next campaign will be Get Ready for Winter, followed by the Festive Drink/Drug Drive Campaign.

Co-Chair CS asked if a paper on the HMICS report could be shared with the SPB, to see the recommendations and map this against the work we are already undertaking. 

  • Action Point 112: Share a briefing of the HMICS report with members.
  • Owner: Police Scotland

SFRS

  • Noted continued support to Road Safety with their ongoing effort with campaigns and initiatives.
  • KB noted that he has recently come into post, along with a deputy head in to Prevention & Protection, and is keen to update and work with the Board going forward.

SCOTS

  • All LA’s are working towards the roll out of 20 mph Speed Limits and Pavement Parking.
  • Winter preparation is underway to ensure that the roads are as safe as possible for travelling during this period.
  • Work to ensure Road Safety remains a priority has continued with a seminar in the North East with key stakeholders, including a TS official, in attendance.
  • At the SCOTS business meeting, a presentation on the National Strategy for 20 mph Speed Limit was given to share good practice and lessons learned to aid with national roll out.

Safety Camera Partnership

  • Performance remains good for three of the four KPI areas.
  • There has been an improvement for fixed enforcement, from 61% to 71% against KPI enforcement hours throughout the first and second quarters of 2024/25. This should continue to improve over the remainder of the year.
  • Mobile Enforcement Performance KPI has dropped from 70% to 63% due to technical issues with vans. TS is supporting Police Scotland colleagues with getting this rectified.
  • The interim findings of the most recent RITS survey which predates the Speed campaign but reflects a month long comms campaign by the three Units, has indicated a 10% improvement on the public perception of the use of safety cameras, from 72% to 82%.
  • Two Temporary Average Speed Camera (TASC) systems have been deployed. Early indications are that both schemes have been successful.
  • A Distracted Driver Trial is in development which can detect mobile phone use and non-seatbelt compliance behind the wheel.

SF highlighted the findings from the recent RITS driver behaviour and perception survey. Within that the Board noted that there is a general view that road policing levels in Scotland are under resourced and a growing attitude that drivers feel they are less likely to be detected of a driving offence. SF noted that operational partners should, collectively, fully support the progression of a trial of Distracted Driver technology along with any other initiatives which act to support enforcement action whilst also encourage improved driver behaviours. In response the Board reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Distracted Driver technology in live enforcement mode.

Any Other Business and Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on 18 December, at St Andrew’s House.

Co-Chair CS thanked members for attending and re-affirmed the importance of working in partnership to meeting Scotland’s ambitious casualty reduction targets.

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Published Date 25 Nov 2024 Type Mode of transport Topic