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Policy levers

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3.1 The Scottish Executive is building a highly responsive and flexible economic environment that will allow businesses, and the economy in general, to flourish. We have a vital leadership role. The levers that will help achieve our transport objectives include legislation, investment, the duty of Best Value, influence, planning policy, standard-setting, demand management and joint working.

3.2 Securing access to economic opportunities for all our communities may need intervention by government, primarily to tackle those transport needs that even a well-functioning market will fail to provide, for example by providing improved transport links to connect disadvantaged communities to new opportunities.

3.3 Achieving our objectives depends critically on setting out a strategy and agreeing on the actions required. Some of the levers necessary are available directly to the Scottish Executive, some rest primarily with its delivery partners in local government, and others, such as vehicle excise duty and fuel duty, are taxation matters reserved to Westminster. It is not the role of government to intervene where the market can provide the most efficient solution but transport will continue to require significant public sector intervention to meet our economic and social policy objectives.

3.4 The Scottish Executive determines spending priorities and takes decisions on the allocation of resources but its other primary function is to consult on and propose legislation. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for scrutiny of proposals and turning them into statute as Acts of the Scottish Parliament or secondary legislation in the form of orders or regulations. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 was the Scottish Parliament’s first transport legislation and provided the legislative framework to improve transport planning, enable local authorities to implement road user charging, support quality bus measures and allow the establishment of the Integrated Transport Fund to support strategic transport projects via central government grant. Our new legislative proposals are set out later in this document.

3.5 Investing capital and revenue in line with objectives and priorities is the most direct way in which progress can be made towards policy objectives. The annual transport budget, which by 2005-06 will be around £1 billion, is funding our ambitious programme of investment in infrastructure and services. Local authorities receive approximately £425 million (2003-04) of grant-aided expenditure (GAE) for transport from the total Scottish Budget, which they have responsibility for allocating.

3.6 We will seek to secure Best Value for the public pound by adopting an approach to funding based on what delivers best outcomes, while giving the taxpayer good value for money. Resources must be targeted on agreed strategic priorities and seek efficiency and economies of scale at all levels. There is particular scope for achieving this at the regional level. Wherever possible we will drive down costs, negotiate competitive prices, seek opportunities to capture value from development gain and use private finance where it is appropriate. Public Private Partnerships remain central to our policies for modernising Scotland’s infrastructure and public services and are currently being used to deliver the M77 extension and Glasgow Southern Orbital road.

3.7 Individuals’ travel choices determine demand for transport. Government can influence those choices through improving services and infrastructure but can also influence attitudes by raising public awareness of transport issues and explaining the impact of different choices. Raising awareness is the first step in getting people to think about their behaviour and consider whether they could change it, but such changes will only happen in significant numbers in the long term.

3.8 Planning policy influences patterns of land use. SPP17 Planning for Transport³⁰, to be published in 2004, will give policy guidance on the integration of land use development and transport. Land use planning should reduce the need to travel; create the right conditions for greater use of sustainable modes; and restrict adverse environmental impacts. Land allocations should take account of transport opportunities and impacts, relating settlement strategy to the capacity of the transport network, and identifying where economic growth or regeneration requires additional transport infrastructure. Policies in development plans should be matched by development control mechanisms to ensure consistent implementation. The requirement to prepare transport assessments for new developments is a good example of planning policy as a policy lever.

3.9 Some level of regulation and standard-setting by central and local government will always be necessary to ensure safety and promote high-quality services. Regulatory bodies include the Traffic Commissioner, the Rail Regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Health and Safety Executive. Bus services are delivered in Scotland in a largely deregulated market. The Traffic Commissioner regulates bus companies to ensure that bus services are operated in an orderly way. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 introduced powers to allow local authorities to develop quality partnerships for bus services or to tender services through quality contracts. In both rail and ferries the Scottish Executive uses procurement processes to influence the level of service provided. These cover the Scottish rail franchise services and the Clyde and Hebrides and Northern Isles ferry services.

3.10 Government does influence patterns of transport use by how it chooses to provide incentives through subsidy for services and through financial measures such as pricing. Financial and environmental constraints mean that the supply of, particularly, road infrastructure and services is finite and if demand outstrips supply then government should consider demand management measures. The most high-profile example of this has been in London through the use of the congestion charge to reduce the demand for road space but other examples in Scotland include parking charges and reallocation of road space, such as bus priority measures. We are currently working with the Department for Transport to look at the feasibility of road pricing for the UK as a whole.

3.11 The Scottish Executive has a responsibility not only to join up its own internal activity but to provide the leadership and clarity that allow central and local government, transport providers and other agencies to work together at all levels of government. This is why we intend to create a national transport agency to give leadership and improve delivery and why we intend to legislate to build on the excellent joint working that already exists by creating regional transport partnerships. Many problems require regional solutions, and those solutions depend on regional bodies having sufficient powers. Working at a UK and European level Scottish Ministers are in regular contact with the Department for Transport and its agencies, the other devolved administrations, national bodies and the European Commission. We recognise the importance of working with our European partners, especially on major issues such as new international links and the Trans European Networks (TENs).

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