HOW WE WILL DELIVER THE CORPORATE PLAN

This Plan lays out a challenging set of delivery priorities for transport in Scotland. Our people are our most important asset and are key to delivering these priorities.

OUR PEOPLE

As well as our essential core support and administrative roles, we have a wide range of high profile and interesting projects, attracting a range of professional and highly skilled staff from across the UK and beyond. Our recruitment policies will not only ensure that we have the right people, with the right skills and experience, in the right jobs at the right time, matching our resources to our future needs, but will also help to deliver our aim of becoming a national centre of transport excellence.

We have a continuous recruitment process to ensure that we are addressing succession planning and have the appropriate people, skills and experience in place. We are proud to have established a graduate training scheme where we recruit up to four graduates each year in key disciplines including Engineering and Transport Planning. By developing and progressing this scheme over the next three years we will drive towards delivering our specialists of the future.

We have recognised the potential benefits and longer term learning and development requirements of the organisation by introducing a dedicated manager. This now allows us to implement a core, tailored programme for Transport Scotland, identifying critical skills gaps and other essential requirements including: Scottish Government core training; other training and development opportunities; a revised induction process; and lunchtime seminars on transport related issues.

We will work smarter, continuously improving our performance to ensure we deliver what Scottish Ministers, key stakeholders and our customers require. We will regularly review our Human Resources services to ensure we can develop and provide a high quality service, delivering our business objectives effectively and efficiently. We must be aware of what types of HR practice are relevant to building the organisation, both now and in the future, utilising what is already in place and keeping up to date with the wider Scottish Government Human Resources environment. By focusing on the basics of recruitment, retention and development of a highly skilled and highly motivated team we will build a stronger, more sustainable brand in the employment marketplace.

Efficient Government

We will also deliver our priorities by working as efficiently as possible, reducing duplication, bureaucracy and overlap. To help us do this we will regularly review and improve our:

Procurement management and systems to deliver best client value
Partnership working to secure common project aims
Business processes to improve internal efficiency

We are committed to managing our resources transparently and effectively in order to deliver annual efficiency savings of at least 2 per cent which will release over £150 million in the three-year period.

Open Government

As an executive agency of the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland is committed to the principle of open and transparent government. Transport Scotland complies with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and has produced a Publication Scheme which describes which information it will routinely publish. [see www.transportscotland.gov.uk.]

Annual Business Plans

The Transport Scotland Business Plan 2008/09 is being published alongside this Corporate Plan. This will set out in detail how Transport Scotland will deliver the priorities set out above.

Promoting Equalities

We are committed to an open, just and inclusive Scotland where respect and understanding are fostered and where everyone is encouraged and enabled to live, work and take part in society to their full potential, free from prejudice and discrimination. During the Corporate Plan period we will:

Review how we deliver our business objectives to ensure they are compliant with equalities good practice and with both existing and developing legislative requirements
Evaluate and enhance our Equalities Action Plan, to ensure we comply with equalities best practice and legislation
Ensure that all of our staff are trained in disability equality
Contribute to the Scottish Government’s Equalities Vision – which itself is continually evolving

Risk Management

Transport Scotland has major responsibilities for efficiency, safety and prudent use of public money on the rail and trunk roads systems, and in running the national concessionary travel schemes. The Chief Executive is responsible for implementing and monitoring appropriate risk management arrangements. We have a risk management strategy which sets out a clear system for identifying, managing and mitigating risk.

Major projects which are promoted by Transport Scotland and third parties impact directly or indirectly on other modes of transport. We employ a tier of project and programme managers to ensure day to day control and regularly monitor these projects at project review boards to ensure that the projects and the overall programme portfolio are delivered to time and budget. We have a robust performance measurement regime so that we can readily measure progress.

The Chief Executive is required to sign and present an Annual Report and Accounts to Scottish Ministers, to be laid before the Scottish Parliament. This will include a report on Transport Scotland’s performance against its delivery priorities. Transport Scotland will keep proper accounts and records as defined in the Government Financial Reporting Manual and Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Transport Scotland is subject to external audit by the Auditor General for Scotland. The Chief Executive is responsible for arranging internal audit mechanisms, in accordance with the objectives and standards laid down in the Government Internal Audit Manual and in a way which demonstrates best value for money.

Transport Scotland has an Audit Committee, led by a Non-Executive Director, which supports the Chief Executive in his responsibilities on issues of risk control, governance and associated assurance through a process of constructive challenge. This Committee reviews the outputs and recommendations flowing from the external and internal audit procedures.