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Chapter 1: Background to the Consultation
The Consultation
The consultation "Scotland's National Transport Strategy" was launched by the Minister for Transport on 20 April 2006. Over 600 copies of the consultation paper were distributed to a wide range of organisations and individuals with an interest in national transport policy. 1 The consultation paper posed a series of 65 questions on issues of potential national transport policy. 2 A summary booklet providing a synopsis of the issues under consideration was also published and distributed to almost 500 interested bodies and individuals.
The launch of the consultation attracted media coverage in Scotland's national and many local newspapers. It was further publicised on the Scottish Executive website. In addition, the Minister wrote to all MSPs inviting feedback on constituents' comments regarding bus services (13 June 2006).
The written consultation period ran from 20 April 2006 until 13 July 2006 although this closing date was subsequently extended to 21 July to allow for late responses during the holiday period.
A press release helped publicise the consultation paper. In announcing the consultation the Minister for Transport said:
"Transport is about providing real options for people getting to work, children travelling to school and businesses transporting goods. Traffic volumes continue to grow so we must continue to provide attractive public transport alternatives for the future. That means reducing journey times and integrating routes and public transport choices for passengers.
"The National Transport Strategy will provide focus for our long-term aims. It will guide transport policy development across the board - from Transport Scotland, the regional transport partnerships and local authorities to NHS boards as well as organisations in the private and voluntary sectors.
"I want to take account of the views of all interested parties in drawing up the strategy through this far-reaching public consultation."
The consultation paper sought comments on key areas of future transport policy:
- What the goals for transport in Scotland should be
- Whether the proposed aim, vision and objectives are appropriate
- The transport measures to be taken to facilitate economic growth
- Measures to be taken to promote the role of transport in ensuring services are accessible and contribute to closing the opportunity gap
- Measures needed to promote travel choice and raise awareness of the need for change to more sustainable transport modes
- Measures to promote modal shift in transport
- Measures to promote new technologies and cleaner fuels
- Measures to manage demand in transport
- Measures to reduce the need for travel
- Measures to promote road safety
- Best ways to implement the strategy following its publication later in 2006
- Proposals for potential performance indicators to assist with measuring progress
- Proposals for existing and future targets for the strategy
Consultees were invited to comment on the proposals outlined and make other suggestions for consideration in developing a National Transport Strategy.
By the final cut-off date for receipt of responses, 314 submissions had been made and have been included in this analysis. 3 (A further 8 responses were received after the extended cut-off point, and have not been included in this analysis.)
Context
Economic, environmental, social, safety and integration objectives for transport were set out in the 2004 White Paper, Scotland's Transport Future. The importance of sustainable economic growth was also highlighted in the Scottish Executive's Framework for Economic Development in Scotland, and the Partnership Agreement emphasises that a successful economy is key to Scotland's future prosperity. The importance of progressing these objectives in an integrated way was further reinforced in Choosing our Future, the Scottish Executive's sustainable development strategy. The consultation document poses big questions about what should be done in transport to make those objectives a reality over the longer term.
The Strategy will be based upon the Executive's five objectives for Transport, these are:
- To promote economic growth by building, enhancing, managing and maintaining transport services, infrastructure and networks to maximise their efficiency
- To protect our environment and improve health by building and investing in public transport and other types of efficient and sustainable transport which minimise emissions and consumption of resources and energy
- To promote social inclusion by connecting remote and disadvantaged communities and increasing the accessibility of the transport network
- To improve safety of journeys by reducing accidents and enhancing the personal safety of pedestrians, drivers, passengers and staff
- To improve integration by making journey planning and ticketing easier and working to ensure smooth connection between different forms of transport.
The aims of the National Transport Strategy are to:
- Cover all modes
- Cover all travellers
- Be medium to long-term in nature
- Provide the context for the Strategic Projects Review
- Be based on wide-ranging public consultation - which is underway
- Be complemented by the Regional Transport Strategies ( RTSs)
- Be evidence based.
A series of 20 consultation events preceded the publication of the written consultation paper and informed its content. Seven themed events were held with stakeholders between August 2005 and September 2005. Six regional events took place between June 2005 and February 2006. Seven mode-specific events were held between August 2005 and June 2006. In addition, 2 Business Breakfasts and one Business lunch were hosted in April and May 2006 to seek input from the business community. A national transport conference was held in May 2006.
In order to involve the views of people who may not otherwise respond to a written consultation, George Street Research was commissioned to undertake 11 focus groups with "hard-to-reach" audiences across Scotland in addition to carrying out in-depth interviews with a further 40 respondents.
The written consultation sought views on key questions relating to the future national transport policy. The responses to the consultation have been made publicly available in the Scottish Executive library and on the Scottish Executive website unless the respondent has specifically requested otherwise.
The remainder of the report presents the "story" of the consultation, - the consultation process ( Chapter 2), respondents' views on that process ( Chapter 3), and the findings of the analysis ( Chapters 4-18).
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