2 How TMfS supports the Scottish Government’s Purpose

2 How TMfS supports the Scottish Government’s Purpose

2.1 The Big Picture

"to focus the Government and public services on creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth."

2.1.1 In November 2007, the Scottish Government published its Government Economic Strategy. The aim of the Strategy is to set out how the Scottish Government will achieve its central Purpose:

User engagement Technical excellence Estimating and comparing the impacts of transport programme and policies

2.1.2 The Purpose provides a benchmark against which all Government policy may be assessed. In a transport context, interventions must be focused on delivering the connections commensurate with stimulating economic growth in a sustainable and financially viable manner. TMfS aims to support the Purpose through:

2.1.3 The Scottish Government has developed a number of National Outcomes which will make a positive contribution to the Purpose, and are set out in the National Performance Framework.²

2.1.4 In addition to the National Outcomes, the Government has also set out a number of National Indicators and Targets which support both the National Outcomes and the Purpose. TMfS is unique in that it is a national strategic model which draws land-use and transport interaction together and allows for an assessment of how proposed infrastructure and policy interventions contribute towards the Government’s Purpose.

2.1.5 The key aim of the Scottish Government’s Purpose is to deliver ‘sustainable economic growth’. The means of achieving this Purpose are outlined in the Government Economic Strategy, which elaborates on how Scotland can build a ‘a dynamic and growing economy that will provide prosperity and opportunities for all, while ensuring that future generations can enjoy a better quality of life too’.³

2.2 Transport, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government’s Purpose

2.2.1 Transport has a vital role to play in increasing sustainable economic growth. Scotland’s roads, rail network, ports and airports, together with the thousands of businesses that rely on these assets, are essential components of a successful economy. They ensure that products get to market and labour reaches places of employment, while also providing access to retail, leisure and many other opportunities. An efficient transport network also helps to promote social inclusion by connecting remote and disadvantaged communities; improve the environment by reducing emissions and energy consumption; and reduce the number of accidents and fatalities.

2.2.2 Transport, land-use planning and planning policy underpin each of the ‘Strategic Priorities’. For example, developing learning and skills is strongly influenced by the location of and access to educational establishments and skills services. Similarly, a highly developed transport network is required to create a ‘Supportive Business Environment’, where firms benefit from economies of scale, easy access to markets and a deep labour pool. In the Government Economic Strategy, the First Minister states that "Scotland has real strength in the most vital factor for modern economies — the human capital offered by our greatest asset, Scotland’s people".⁴ However, the ability of the Scottish people to access jobs and other services is central to realising the Government’s Purpose.

2.2.3 The focus on sustainable economic growth provides a clear rationale for transport and planning policy, as defined by the Government Economic Strategy. The demand for transport and the benefits accrued from using it are ‘derived’ — i.e. transport is a means to an end (i.e. to access work, education, healthcare or leisure opportunities), rather than as an end in itself. In addition, the Government recognises that, while the movement of people and goods is beneficial to an economy, transport can have negative environmental effects. These issues are recognised in the Government’s ‘Strategic Priority’ for ‘Infrastructure Development and Place’; where the approach is:

To focus investment on making connections across and with Scotland better, improving reliability and journey times, seeking to maximise the opportunities for employment, business, leisure and tourism To provide sustainable, integrated and cost-effective public transport alternatives to the car, connecting people, places and work across Scotland A planning and development regime which is joined up, and combines greater certainty and speed of decision making within a framework geared towards achieving good quality sustainable places and sustainable economic growth5

2.2.4 The key issues outlined in the above bullet list were embodied in Scotland’s "National Transport Strategy", which sets out the key strategic outcomes for the Scottish transport system over the next 20 years:

Improved journey times and connections between our cities and towns and our global markets to tackle congestion and provide access to key markets Reduced emissions to tackle climate change Improved quality, accessibility and affordability of transport, to give people the choice of public transport and real alternatives to the car

2.2.5 Transport Scotland’s Corporate Plan 2008-2011 reinforces these themes through its four Delivery Priorities, which contribute to each of the Strategic Objectives and the Scottish Government’s Purpose in turn:

Improved connections across Scotland Better journey times, better reliability Greener transport alternatives, reduced emissions Increased safety, more innovation6

2.2.6 TMfS is an essential tool in assisting transport practitioners in realising the objectives of the National Transport Strategy, the ‘Delivery Priorities’ of the Transport Scotland Corporate Plan and consequently, the Scottish Government’s Purpose. The realisation of these objectives stems from the ability of the modelling suite to provide a robust and consistent framework in which a range of transport interventions can be objectively appraised.

2.3 National Performance Framework

2.3.1 The National Performance Framework includes five National Outcomes particularly relevant to transport and its role in the delivery of the Purpose:

We realise our full economic potential with more and better employment opportunities for our people We live in well-designed, sustainable places, where we are able to access the amenities and services we need We value and enjoy our built and natural environment; we protect and enhance it for future generations We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production Our public services are of a high quality, continually improving, efficient and responsive to local people’s needs

2.3.2 To support these National Outcomes, a number of National Indicators and Targets, of which two are relevant to transport, have been set. These allow for the measuring of transport’s performance in contributing towards the Purpose:

To reduce the proportion of driver journeys delayed due to traffic congestion To increase the proportion of journeys to work made by public or active transport

2.4 TMfS and the Scottish Government’s Purpose

2.4.1 The key role of TMfS in contributing towards the Government’s central Purpose is that it allows the user to assess and compare how far the project they are investigating meets the indicators outlined in the National Performance Framework. This is consistent with the recently relaunched Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG), which notes that the potential contribution of transport schemes and policies towards meeting the Government’s Purpose must be made clear. TMfS has been used in both scheme and policy appraisal and intensive efforts have been made to cultivate links with other policy areas, including planning, health and housing.

2.4.2 Figure 2.1 provides an illustration of how the concept of ‘value’ is created by the use to TMfS:

Figure 2.1 TMfS, Value Creation and the Scottish Government’s Purpose

2.4.3 The value delivered by TMfS is partly derived from the application of the model to produce data and forecasts. TMfS is a consistent and robust tool that is available ‘off-the-shelf’, which allows for economies of scale and more compressed timescales than would be the case if a model user had to build their own model and / or collect the necessary data. There is a direct relationship between the number and scale of model applications and the level of value generated by TMfS — the bigger the applications and the more applications that are conducted, the greater the value generated through its use.

2.4.4 However, organisations will only make use of TMfS if they can be confident that the model and its data are robust and that strong project management and customer responsiveness underpins the implementation of the model. Prospective model users must feel confident that they will be the recipients of effective user engagement and technical excellence, delivered through effective:

Project Management (see Chapter 3) — strong project management and project control this involves regular communication between the respective TMfS management teams, the completion of management-related reports and the audit of the model User (Customer) Engagement (see Chapter 4) — the capabilities of TMfS require to be effectively communicated to the all stakeholders, while potential model users must also be aware of and confident in the support structures in place to assist them throughout their applications Model Development (see Chapter 5) — organisations will only apply to use TMfS if the model is the most appropriate tool for their project. It is therefore important that after consultation, the most useful technical enhancements and model updates are undertaken as frequently as possible and subsequently communicated to all stakeholders Data Collection (see Chapter 6) — the quality of any model is dependent on the data on which it is based. A key priority in encouraging model applications is to ensure that the data within the TMfS model is the most recent available and that new data are collected where required

2.4.5 TMfS creates two different value streams, each of which contributes towards delivering the Government’s Purpose:

The attainment of cost savings through having an ‘off-the-shelf’ modelling capability for projects, which mitigates the need for organisations to build their own model and collect the required data for it. In addition, the use of the model in other policy areas encourages greater integration along with a number of cost savings The use of a consistent, regularly updated model in different projects creates a robust evidence base from which to assess schemes and policies and in particular, measure the key economic, social and environmental impacts of interventions. In addition, the consistent analysis available from TMfS minimises the risks to large scale investment programmes

2.4.6 Without TMfS, it would be extremely difficult to measure the performance of schemes and policies against the National Outcomes due to the lack of an evidence base. In addition, there would be no reliable means of monitoring the progress against the targets and indicators on a consistent basis. TMfS therefore provides an essential tool in the ongoing process of scheme appraisal and project selection.

2.4.7 While TMfS has contributed greatly to the delivery of the policy agenda during 2008, there is a growing recognition that the model can become more proactively involved in an increasing range of policy areas and projects, thus building on the Government’s Purpose and Transport Scotland’s role within it. TMfS and its data can be used to answer and articulate on questions that other organisations would not be able to address as robustly. This presents an important opportunity for us in the year(s) ahead and the ‘Next Steps’ section of this report (Chapter 10) outlines how we, the TMfS team will realise these opportunities.