Conclusions and Next Steps

Conclusions

This report sets out the approach undertaken to the assessment of impacts on children and young people and demonstrates Transport Scotland’s due regard to the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act throughout the A96 Corridor Review process. The feedback received in relation to the SEqIA Scoping Report consultation has also been reviewed and used to inform the CRWIA Report.

This CRWIA has outlined the key evidence and issues relating to children and young people. It has identified both positive and negative impacts relating to Full Dualling and the transport intervention packages assessed as part of the A96 Corridor Review. Overall, there is likely to be a minor or moderate positive impact on children and young people with Full Dualling and the transport intervention packages contributing to improving outcomes by improving noise and air quality, increasing accessibility to a range of transport options and enabling improved access to key educational and other destinations along the corridor.

The CRWIA process started at early stages of transport intervention development to ensure intervention options maximise positive outcomes and, where possible, include appropriate engagement organisations representing children and young people to understand specific requirements.

There are a number of factors outside the scope of the A96 Corridor Review that will have an impact on children and young people. For example:

• To minimise the negative health impacts associated with construction, a Construction Environmental Management Plan will need to be produced, outlining mitigation strategies in relation to air quality, traffic-related noise and potential severance issues.
• Public transport fares and costs associated with bike ownership or hire could be a challenge to reducing barriers experienced by children and young people. This is particularly the case for children from low-income households accessing education and training opportunities.
• Enhancing the benefits of Community Transport for children and young people may require overcoming the technology barriers that some groups may face.

Furthermore, it is important to recognise local circumstances within each settlement or rural community impacted by the transport intervention options. The alignment of the route and proximity to children and young people living or attending schools along the route require consideration. Therefore, while this impact assessment can provide a high-level assessment of impacts for Full Dualling and transport packages, further assessment is required for any of the transport intervention options to be taken forward. This should include engagement and consultation with children and young people in the study area.

As of July 2024, Transport Scotland have a legal responsibility to undertake a CRWIA for any new legislation which bring an Act into force or decisions of a strategic nature relating to the rights and wellbeing of children and young people. A detailed CRWIA will be completed for any transport intervention option taken forward as an outcome of the A96 Corridor Review that requires a Scottish Statutory Instrument. This should include further consultation with children and young people and proposed actions to enhance positive impacts and reduce negative impacts.

Next Steps

The feedback received in relation to the CRWIA Report consultation will be reviewed and used to inform the finalised version of the CRWIA Report.

The key CRWIA milestones are as follows:

• Consultation on the public consultation version of the CRWIA Report; and
• Finalisation of the CRWIA Report following consultation.