Accountability Report

This section of the report describes our governance structures and how they support delivery of our business objectives. It comprises the Directors Report, Statement of Accountable Officers Responsibilities and the Governance Statement.

Directors Report

Relationship with Scottish Government

Scottish Ministers are responsible for determining the overall policy and resources framework within which Transport Scotland operates. We are accountable to Ministers, and Ministers are accountable to Parliament for our functions and performance. Being an Executive Agency, our management and budgets are separate from core Scottish Government and our Chief Executive is accountable for managing our performance and the budget required to deliver a high-quality service based on our values of dignity, fairness and respect

Throughout the financial year 2024-25, Fiona Hyslop MSP remained Cabinet Secretary for Transport.

Jim Fairlie MSP remained Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity, with responsibility for Aviation and Air Services, Island Connectivity, Bus Services and Concessionary Fares and Scottish Canals. The Minister reports jointly to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands. The Minister has additional responsibilities sitting within the latter portfolio but that fall out with the remit of Transport Scotland.

Patrick Harvie MSP was Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, with responsibility for active travel and the Future Transport Fund, which fall within the remit of Transport Scotland, until 25 April 2024.

Transport Scotland forms part of the Net Zero Portfolio overseen by Director General (DG) Net Zero, Roy Brannen. The relationship between Transport Scotland, DG Portfolio and the wider Scottish Government is outlined within the a gency’s Framework Document.

The Chief Executive

Alison Irvine is the Chief Executive and the Accountable Officer for Transport Scotland. The Chief Executive is appointed by the Permanent Secretary as Principle Accountable Officer for the Scottish Government under the terms set out in their letter of appointment, in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Chief Executive is supported by the Transport Scotland Senior Management Team, comprised of Directors with specific responsibilities delegated from the Chief Executive, in addition to a direct support team and secretariat responsible for handling official correspondence. The Executive Directors are, in turn, supported by their own staff, with responsibilities aligned to Transport Scotland’s corporate objectives.

Audit and Risk Committee

The external Members of the Transport Scotland Audit and Risk Committee provide the Chief Executive with further assurance in that role and are members of major project boards. Throughout the reporting period, the Audit and Risk Committee was chaired by John Matheson. He is joined on the Committee by Lesley MacLeod and Graeme Dickson.

John Matheson’s appointment ended on 30 April 2025. Graeme Dickson has been appointed chair until August 2026, with Lesley McLeod’s appointment extended until August 2026. David Climie, Gillian Bruton and Iain Stewart have been appointed to the Committee from 1 May 2025 until 31 August 2028.

Directors’ Register of Interests

A register of interests for all Executive Advisory Body and Executive Team members is maintained and published on our website (Transport Scotland Directors Register of Interests 2024-25 | Transport Scotland)

Other disclosures

Personal Data Related Incidents

There were no personal data-related incidents reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in 2024-25 (2023-24: None).

Supplier Payment Policy

We are committed to prompt payment of bills for goods and services in compliance with the Scottish Government’s Public Finance Manual. We aim to settle all undisputed invoices within contract terms and in line with the Scottish Government 10-day payment policy. We settled 96% of invoices within this timescale within 2024-25 (2023-24: 96%).

Freedom of Information (FOI) Request Statistics

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), a person who requests information from a Scottish public authority which holds it is entitled to be given it by the authority, subject to certain conditions and exemptions set out in the Act. Within 2024-25, Transport Scotland received 568 FOI requests (2023-24: 590), 99% of which were responded to within the statutory working time of 20 working days (2023-24: 97%).

Basis of Accounts

Transport Scotland’s accounts are prepared in accordance with the Accounts Direction issued by Scottish Ministers under section 19(4) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000.

Departmental Accounting

These accounts reflect the assets and liabilities of Transport Scotland as at 31 March 2025, and the financial results of the agency for financial year 2024-25, as required by and defined in the Government Financial Reporting Manual. As an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland falls within the reporting boundary and is consolidated within the Scottish Government accounts, as required by the FReM.

External Audit

The financial statements for 2024-25 were audited by auditors appointed by the Auditor General for Scotland. Audit Scotland carried out this audit and the notional fee for this service was £205,750 (2023-24: £201,960), which related solely to the provision of the statutory audit service. There were no payments made for non-audit work in the year.

Statement of Accountable Officer’s responsibilities

Under Section 19(4) of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, the Scottish Ministers have directed Transport Scotland to prepare for each financial year a statement of accounts in the form and on the basis set out in the Accounts Direction. The accounts are prepared on an accruals basis and must give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of Transport Scotland and of its income and expenditure, Statement of Financial Position, and cash flows for the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accountable Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

observe the Accounts Direction issued by Scottish Ministers, including the relevant accounting and disclosure requirements, and apply suitable accounting policies on a consistent basis.
make judgements and estimates on a reasonable basis.
state whether the applicable accounting standards as set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual have been followed and disclose and explain any material departures in the financial statements.
prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis; and
confirm that the Annual Report and Accounts as a whole is fair, balanced, and understandable and take personal responsibility for the Annual Report and Accounts and the judgements required for determining that it is fair, balanced, and understandable.

The Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration has designated the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland as Accountable Officer for the agency. The responsibilities of an Accountable Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding the assets of Transport Scotland, as set out in the Memorandum to Accountable Officers issued by the Scottish Government.

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that Transport Scotland’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

Under Section 15 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000, the Principal Accountable Officer for the Scottish Administration has designated the Chief Executive of Transport Scotland as its Accountable Officer. They are personally answerable to the Scottish Parliament for the propriety and regularity of Transport Scotland activities and for the economical, efficient, and effective use of all associated resources. The Accountable Officer is also responsible for signing the accounts of Transport Scotland.

Governance Statement

Corporate Governance Framework

The corporate governance framework is comprised of the systems, processes, culture, and values by which Transport Scotland is directed and controlled. It is concerned with the structures and procedures of decision-making and accountability. It is used to monitor the achievement of corporate outcomes within the organisation. The framework includes, but is not limited to, the responsibilities of the Chief Executive, the Senior Management Team, the Investment Decision-Making Board and the Audit and Risk Committee.

The Chief Executive

The Chief Executive, as the agency’s Accountable Officer, is responsible for maintaining a sound system of internal control that supports the achievement of Transport Scotland’s policies, aims and objectives as set out by Scottish Ministers, while safeguarding the public funds and departmental assets for which she is responsible, in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Senior Management Team

The Chief Executive is supported in discharging their duties by a Senior Management Team (SMT), an advisory body of eight Directors per Our Organisation (Page X). In 2024-25, the SMT met on a twice weekly basis and provided support, advice, and challenge on a number of areas, including:

Transport Scotland’s values, vision, strategy, and objectives
Corporate performance, including policy across the remit of Transport Scotland’s remit and the operation of the transport network
Governance and delivery of projects
Assurance that Transport Scotland has the necessary financial, human, infrastructural and physical resources to deliver on its objectives
Assurance on risk management, governance, and internal control.

Investment Decision Making Board

The Investment Decision Making Board (IDM) is a forum where Directors meet to agree on investment decisions within Transport Scotland, providing the Chief Executive Officer with assurances on:

Value for money
Financial implications (current year and future commitments)
Fit with overall transport policy and strategic aims
Technical assessment of options
Procurement strategy.

IDM is a management forum used to ensure delivery of the business targets and strategic direction agreed by the SMT and Ministers. It is not a sub-committee of the SMT, but minutes of IDM are circulated to SMT members for information.

The Chief Executive, as Accountable Officer, is the Investment Decision Maker within Transport Scotland. They may call on both Transport Scotland Directors and external experts to provide them with advice on the decisions to be made.

Project Boards

Some projects, due to their wider implications beyond Transport Scotland, have separately constructed Projects Boards. These operate within a bespoke Investment Decision Making structure but retain the Chief Executive as the Investment Decision Maker. The decision-making process for these structures is consistent with the principles of the IDM Board.

Audit and Risk Committee

The Audit and Risk Committee is comprised of external members who bring constructive challenge and independent judgement to the governance of Transport Scotland. It meets four times per year, although the Chair has the power to convene additional meetings if required. The Chair also meets regularly with the Chief Executive and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services to keep abreast of developments.

In addition to the Committee’s members, it is normally attended by the Chief Executive, the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, a representative of internal audit and a representative of Audit Scotland. Other Transport Scotland officials may also attend to support the consideration of specific issues as required.

The Audit and Risk Committee advises on risk management, control and governance, audit and the approval of the annual report and accounts, and assurances on corporate governance. The external members are also invited to participate in boards appointed for the governance, approval and oversight of major projects, investments, and climate change.

The Audit and Risk Committee receives copies of the minutes monthly from Corporate Senior Management team meetings. It also meets with Directors biennially on an individual basis, as well as with representatives of internal and external audit privately on an annual basis.

The Committee produces an Annual Report, which supports this Governance Statement. This report summarises the Committee’s work over the reporting period and assesses:

the reliability and comprehensiveness of assurances received
issues pertinent to this governance statement
financial reporting
the quality of both internal and external audit
its view of its own effectiveness.

The Audit and Risk Committee met four times over the reporting period on 29 May 2024, 28 August 2024, 25 November 2024, and 11 March 2025. Its members over this period were:

John Matheson – Chair (attended all meetings)
Lesley MacLeod – Member (attended three meetings)
Graeme Dickson – Member (attended three meetings)

The Committee has considered the annual report and accounts, and the Accountable Officer has taken account of, and confidence from, their comments and observations prior to signing this governance statement and the other parts of the annual report and accounts.

Best value

Under the Scottish Public Finance Manual, Accountable Officers appointed by the Principal Accountable Officer have a specific responsibility to ensure that arrangements have been made to secure best value. Scottish Ministers expect all Accountable Officers to comply with the duty of Best Value placed upon them.

As part of this duty, arrangements are to be made to secure continuous improvement in performance whilst maintaining an appropriate balance between quality and cost; and in making those arrangements and securing that balance. Regard is also to be made to economy, effectiveness, the equal opportunities requirements, and to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual groups Best Value characteristics to reflect the key themes which will support the development of an effective organisational context from which public services can deliver key outcomes and ultimately achieve Best Value. Each of these have been listed below, alongside some examples from the reporting year to demonstrate how these have been achieved by Transport Scotland.

Vision and Leadership

Transformation Programme: This programme, which ran throughout 2024-25, seeks to look collectively at our organisation and the way we work. This Programme is divided into six workstreams, which are a key driving force in securing Best Value through vision and leadership. These are: (1) Organisation Purpose; (2) Prioritisation Exercise; (3) Organisation Design; (4) Leadership and Managing Change; (5) Learning and Development; and (6) Wellbeing. Each of these workstreams has a Senior Management Team Lead to provide visibility and leadership through the process.
Organisational Design: During the reporting year, we have been undertaking an Organisational Development programme within Transport Scotland to develop options for structural change, which will maximise efficiencies from flexible working across teams and economies of scale. This forms part of the wider Scottish Government’s Transformation programme. This programme has provided us with an opportunity to reset our priorities to align better with the second National Transport Strategy.

Governance and Accountability

Investment Decision-Making: In supporting the Accountable Officer in making investment decisions, the Investment Decision Making (IDM) Board provides advice on the major capital and resource investment programme, ensuring value for money and accountability in the delivery of the agreed investment programme, and providing advice on the progression of individual projects to the next stage. Core to supporting these decisions is a suite of appraisals, assessments, and evaluations (some examples below).
Appraisal, Assessment and Evaluation: The Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) supports the vision for transport in Scotland by providing a framework to identify and appraise transport interventions. It follows a structure and methodology that is consistent with the UK Government’s Green Book. The process is designed to provide investment decision-makers with the information they need in a clear, structured format. This forms a key part of a transport-related Business Case. STAG aligns with a Strategic Business Case (SBC) for interventions. An appraisal using STAG will generate the Strategic Case and the Socio-Economic Case included in the five-case model typically used in business case development. As part of the options appraisal, an assessment is required on how options perform against current Scottish Government policy objectives. In so doing, the Policy Assessment Framework (PAF) tool is used. The Scottish Trunk Road Infrastructure Project Evaluation (STRIPE) framework is used for the evaluation of road schemes costing over £5 million and considers whether the scheme’s Transport Planning Objectives were achieved and benefits realised; whether the outturns impacts of the project were as forecast; how well the project was implemented; what the impacts were on established policy directives; and what lessons can be learnt to improve decision-making.

Use of Resources

Procurement: For Transport Scotland, procurement and commercial capability are key enablers to successfully delivering our business and securing Best Value. While a large part of our budget is allocated to other public and private sector organisations through grants and support, our procurement spend is significant and almost £1 billion was spent on contracts under our management in 2024-25. Through the Scottish Government’s Procurement and Commercial Improvement Programme, Transport Scotland was assessed in the top performance category for the majority of areas assessed. Our mature procurement governance processes support the delivery of Best Value, with our contracts being awarded through genuine and effective competition unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so. In line with the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, Transport Scotland reports on the strategic direction of its procurement activity for each financial year in support of the Scottish Government’s goals. The Corporate Procurement Strategy for 2024-25 was published in May 2024 and sets out our strategic direction for procurement activity, taking into account our legal obligations, ensuring that we make the best use of public money, whilst protecting our climate and improving lives. Our Annual Procurement Reports provide a summary of our regulated procurement activity over each financial year. At the time of publication, the latest Annual Procurement Report was for 2023-24 and was published in March 2025.
Continuous scrutiny of budgets: Throughout the reporting period, we have undertaken continuous scrutiny of budgets to drive efficiencies and ensure that our processes align with the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). Transport Scotland has used the Accountable Officer Spending Control and Accountable Officer Assessment processes as a key part of financial governance and to drive Best Value.
Estates Strategy: As our organisation adapts to supporting delivery in changing circumstances, so does our ongoing support for our people. In May 2025 Transport Scotland moved to new premises in Glasgow where our people are benefiting from a fully flexible workspace with colleague wellbeing at the heart of the design. The office space at 177 Bothwell Street reflects colleagues’ views on the need for flexible working spaces that support collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders alike. Transport Scotland has sublet a floor of its new Bothwell Street offices to several NHS bodies to ensure a more efficient use of space as it embraces hybrid working, cutting its floor space to less than half of what it occupied pre-COVID. Co-locating is delivering significant savings both to Transport Scotland and the health bodies, with an anticipated overall cost savings and excess cost avoidance of c. £15 million to the public purse over the 25-year lease period. The move also supports three public bodies into new net zero carbon office facilities and delivered c. 28,500 sq. ft. reduction in the size of the Glasgow public sector estate.

Partnership and Collaborative Working

As an Executive Agency that sponsors other public bodies, Transport Scotland works collaboratively and in partnership with other organisations. This is achieved in part through a Transport Scotland sponsorship hub for our sponsor teams and providing a platform for working collaboratively on key matters, such as the Public Service Reform (PSR) agenda.

Working with Communities

Consultations: We engage with people and stakeholder organisations as a key part of our policymaking approach. Consultations play a key role in this public engagement. Both our open and closed consultations can be viewed on our website.

Fiscal Sustainability

In considering how best to approach Public Sector Reform (PSR) for transport related issues, the agency’s focus often differs from other public services who are seeking to reduce demand. In public transport, the goal is to increase demand, to encourage more people to use it and to develop a fiscally sustainable path which improves value for money for the taxpayer. Transport operates on a commercial basis, with Scottish Ministers providing a subsidy where required. The priority for reform is therefore to build a financially sustainable and accessible transport system that the people of Scotland can rely on by improving its resilience and effectiveness. This means ensuring that changes we bring in don’t undermine efforts to promote sustainable transport choices. Increasing public transport services and accessibility supports Ministers net-zero ambitions as well as reducing inequalities and supporting the economy of Scotland. By increasing patronage, we not only promote our Climate Change priorities, but generate revenue and reduce the need for public subsidy.

Fairness and Equality

Risk management

Risks are managed at the level most able to deal with them, with the most serious risks being escalated to the Senior Management Team, and where appropriate, to the Director General Net Zero. Transport Scotland categorises risk in line with the Orange Book: Management of risk – Principles and Concepts.

Our Risk Management Framework seeks to set out our approach to risk management and it continues to be reviewed and enhanced (in line with arrangements in Scottish Government) to improve the transparency of our systematic approach, identify risks and to link them to Corporate Planning and Objectives. The Risk Framework provides additional guidance on assessing risks and their impact, with a scoring system that recognises both likelihood and impact.

There is a robust framework of responsibility for risk management in accordance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. The system for assessment and control of risk is as follows:

Managers identify and evaluate risks to delivering objectives successfully when they prepare and review their plans
The Chief Executive meets regularly with the Directors and Ministers, where both strategic and operational matters are discussed.
The Chief Executive reviews the strategic and operational risks to achieving the objectives of Transport Scotland, in conjunction with the Directors, regularly at Senior Management Team meetings
The Audit and Risk Committee provides oversight of our risk management processes and strategy and Corporate Risk Register
Managers identify and evaluate risks to delivering objectives successfully when they prepare and review their plans

Risk Management Group

The Risk Management Group is appointed by the Senior Management Team to review, oversee and advise the SMT on the Transport Scotland Risk Register and risk management processes. Chaired by the Director of Finance and Corporate Services, it has representation from each of the Directorates and meets every three months, aligned to Directorate SMTs and the DG Assurance process.

Risk Review Group

Members of the Risk Management Group also attend the Risk Review Group. This is chaired by the Transport Scotland Risk Champion and meets four times per year. The role of this group is to provide a forum for members to discuss the approach to risk in their Directorate, horizon scanning for potential emerging risks that may impact the organisation as a whole and identifying risks for recommendation for urgent escalation to the Transport Scotland Corporate Risk Register in between Risk Management Group meetings via the Director of Finance and Corporate Services.

Risk appetite

Within 2024-25, the Transport Scotland Risk Appetite Statement was updated. This Statement aligns with the agreed risk appetite for the wider Director General Net Zero Portfolio.

Further detail on these risks is included in the performance report pages (18-21).

Managing information and information security

We are committed to ensuring information is managed and valued, with appropriate protection and use of our information assets. The handling of data and information carries significant risks, and we take information security very seriously, in compliance with Scottish Government sponsored and adopted Security Frameworks and Data Handling policies.

The Transport Scotland Agency Data Protection Officer oversees the process for handling personal data security incidents and staff guidance is available on what to do in the event of a breach. All information security incidents are logged, and lessons learned exercises are carried out for all reported security incidents.

In addition, we follow the Scottish Government key principles for good information management in that:

We know what information we have and where it’s stored
We collaborate with others to share knowledge and information
We know how to protect information and manage it appropriately
We have the skills needed to manage information
We know why this matters because our organisation values knowledge and information
We know what’s expected when creating and using information
We have the tools needed to manage information

All our users of Information Technology must comply with the Scottish Government Code of Conduct.

All staff are required to complete a mandatory General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) e-learning course on an annual basis. The Information Governance and Data Protection team regularly monitors completion rates and issues reminders where required.

During the year 2024-25, no incidents relating to personal data were reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) by Transport Scotland (2023-24: None).

Counter fraud

All cases of actual or suspected fraud are investigated promptly and appropriate action is taken, in accordance with our fraud, bribery and whistleblowing procedures, which specify how cases will be dealt with and how staff can report suspicions or concerns.

Our Fraud Officer updates these procedures in our Fraud Response Plan, which is reviewed annually, with updates communicated through staff notices and awareness sessions.

The Plan also includes a bespoke section on Cyber Resilience, in order to recognise its importance. Cyber Resilience retains a high profile throughout the agency, and our ICT colleagues continue to improve staff awareness and monitor systems. We have joined forces with the Scottish Government and other agencies in terms of developing and sharing best practice. The Agency is working towards maintaining Cyber Essentials in 2024.

The Plan also contains further guidance and advice in relation to emerging and increasing fraud risks as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and continued transition out of it. This has resulted in many significant new challenges for the public sector. We recognise that the need for heightened controls and robust governance is now greater than ever, so we continue to develop and to review mitigations in relation to potential Procurement and Mandate Fraud, as well as ensuring robust controls across all new ways of working and raising staff awareness.

We have continued to encourage staff to undertake training and review regular updates and staff notices distributed by the Fraud Officer, guiding colleagues, particularly to counter fraud eLearning training courses available on the Civil Service-Learning website.

Details of cases of actual or attempted fraud that become known during the financial year are reported within the Fraud Log that is reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee, together with responses and any further mitigation. There were no new cases of suspected fraud highlighted during the year (2023-24 ten). However, there continues to be investigations into prior year fraud cases to ensure they can safely be closed. Information continues to be shared with Police Scotland where this is deemed appropriate.

There is a separate Concessionary Fares Fraud Team due its unique operating environment. We participate in the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) in Scotland, led by Audit Scotland, which matches electronic data within and between public and private sector bodies to prevent and detect fraud. This is also reflected in the contribution to the Scottish Government project designed to review and enhance the overall approach to fraud detection and prevention. This project is designed to assess all areas of fraud prevention, consider the need for new approaches to training and the potential resources available for increasing the awareness and profile of this work.

Business continuity

Our Business Continuity Plan sets out our approach to dealing with events that could cause business interruption.

The aim of the Plan is central to keeping the organisation safe, secure, and resilient. Transport Scotland requires all Directorates to develop, exercise and keep up to date the business continuity plan to deal with the consequences of business disruption. The Plan was updated within the 2024-25 financial year.

Our Business Continuity Plan has been successfully deployed and demonstrated to operate effectively, with lessons learned reflected in updated plans. We also have a Cyber Incident Response Plan, which details how we will respond to any live cyber threat and provides guidance on processes and procedures that should be followed in response to any cyber incident.

Internal audit

The Scottish Government’s Directorate for Internal Audit and Assurance (DIAA) reviews specific areas within Transport Scotland as identified and agreed in the Annual Audit Plan. After reviews have been undertaken, reports are submitted which provide an assurance rating to the Chief Executive.

The annual rating of Assurance Controls provided by DIAA were reported as “Reasonable” This is defined as “Controls are adequate but require improvement” The annual rating was based on the assurance reviews and advisory activity undertaken over the year; the findings and actions put in place to address recommendations. A total of four assurance reviews were completed in-year as follows:

Travel and Subsistence (T&S), ePC Expenditure and Gifts and Hospitality
Incident Management
Major Projects
Grants Management

Transport Scotland continues to work with DIAA to progress and build actions to implement the recommendations, received in-year, as well as those carried forward from previous years, into our future work programme.

External audit

Audit Scotland prepared an Annual Audit Report in August 2025 as part of their audit of the Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 for Transport Scotland. The matters and recommendations that were raised have either been addressed by management or actions have been put in place to address these within Transport Scotland. An Audit Tracker is used to track progress, and this is presented quarterly to the Audit and Risk Committee.

Whistleblowing

We are committed to ensuring a high standard of conduct in all that we do, with a duty to identify and remedy any area of malpractice. We achieve this through encouraging a culture in which employees feel confident to raise their concerns about potential wrongdoing. Employees can report any suspected wrongdoing through their own line management or via a Nominated Officer. All whistleblowing cases are investigated thoroughly, ensuring that lessons are learned to encourage continuous improvement. Transport Scotland follows the Scottish Government’s Raising a Concern under the Civil Service Code and Whistleblowing Policy.

In 2024-25, there was one case reported under the Whistleblowing Policy within Transport Scotland (2023-24: None).

Review of effectiveness

I, as the Accountable Officer, have responsibility for reviewing the effectiveness of the system of internal control. This is informed by the work of Internal Audit, Directors’ assurance, the Audit and Risk Committee and external auditors.

Directors provide annual certificates of assurance covering their areas of responsibility. These are supported by completion of an internal control checklist on an annual basis, covering all areas of corporate governance.

In addition, we maintain an assurance map, which sets out both corporate and directorate processes that provide assurance on achievement of our objectives and identifies officers responsible for ensuring these are accurate and up to date. This document is shared with internal and external audit and reviewed by the Audit and Risk Committee.

Our internal audit is provided by the Scottish Government’s Directorate of Internal Audit and Assurance, and they submit regular reports to the Audit and Risk Committee on the adequacy and effectiveness of the organisation’s system of internal control, together with any recommendations for improvement. Follow-up work is carried out to confirm the effective implementation of recommendations agreed as a result of the audits.

The Performance Audit Group (Turner and Townsend working in association with The Waterman Group, WSP and PriceWaterhouseCoopers) audits, monitors, and reports on an independent basis on the financial, technical and performance aspects of the work carried out by the Trunk Roads Operating Companies, and this provides external assurance for trunk road maintenance.

The Office for Road and Rail also reviews and reports on an independent basis on the financial, technical and performance aspects of Network Rail undertaking the operation, maintenance, and renewal of railway infrastructure in Scotland to provide assurance on the adequacy and value for money of the discharge of these obligations.

Audit Scotland external auditors assess the extent to which they can place reliance on the individual reviews undertaken by Internal Audit to inform their opinion on the financial statements, depending on their relevance.

On the basis of these assurances, I can confirm that sound systems of governance, risk management and internal control, consistent with the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) were operational over the year ended 31 March 2025 and up to the date of approval of the Annual Report and Accounts.

< Previous | Contents | Next >