Executive summary

In its first year of operation, the ‘People & Place’ programme devolved and streamlined a total of £23.5 million in annual funding for active and sustainable travel promotion from Transport Scotland to Regional Transport Partnerships (RTPs) and Local Authorities (LAs). £19 million was grant funded directly to Scotland’s seven RTPs, with an additional £4.5 million grant funded directly to Scotland’s 32 LAs.

This assessment report shows that to date in Year 1 (financial year 2024-25) there is evidence that granting more regional and local control over the commissioning of these public services has increased cross-portfolio value and impact from the ‘Support for Active and Sustainable Travel’ budget line. This has enabled more joined-up working and greater alignment with local and regional strategies.

The devolved model has brought significant organisational change for the seven RTPs as the new direct funding recipients, and several national active travel charities as the former direct funding recipients. This change has not been entirely straightforward for the organisations involved, but all share a commitment to the aims of the programme and its future development.

This report highlights strong evidence of positive impacts from individual projects and initiatives, supporting the Scottish Government’s decisions to increase national funding for this area of work in recent years. A key challenge facing the programme is the breadth and complexity of the interventions it supports and how to clearly articulate the aggregate benefits of these at a national level. Transport Scotland is working iteratively with stakeholders to develop a robust and proportionate system of ongoing monitoring and longer-term evaluation.

Based on this assessment of regional evaluation reports and other feedback gathered to date, Transport Scotland has trust and confidence in the RTPs and LAs as well-placed partners to strategically deploy active and sustainable travel resources in ways that are responsive to local and regional needs.

The headline recommendation of this Transport Scotland assessment report is that, subject to the ongoing agreement of Ministers, the People & Place delivery model should be continued over the next five-year parliamentary term, allowing it further time to establish and develop. There are a number of more granular assessments and recommendations relating to the programme’s themes and the way it is planned, delivered, monitored and evaluated, and these are detailed in the report’s concluding section.