Legislation and Policy Context

Legislation

Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014

In Section 1 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act (2014), Scottish Ministers have committed to keep under consideration whether there are any steps they could take which would or might secure better or further effect in Scotland of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) requirements. Completion of CRWIAs feeds into this consideration and review process. The ‘wellbeing of children and young people’ is defined at Section 96(2) of the 2014 Act. The general principles of the Act (as identified by UNICEF 2019) are:

  • non-discrimination
  • best interest of the child
  • right to survival and life development
  • right to be heard.

The UNCRC considers a child as any human being below 18 years old, unless majority is attained earlier under the law applicable to the child. In Scotland, a minor is a person under the age of 18 in most circumstances.

Part 9 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act on corporate parenting is relevant to certain public bodies, including Transport Scotland. Through corporate parenting, duties were introduced for the relevant public bodies to support certain children and young people. The responsibilities of every corporate parent are to:

  • be alert to matters which, or which might, adversely affect the wellbeing of children and young people to whom this Part applies
  • assess the needs of those children and young people for services and support it provides
  • promote the interests of those children and young people
  • seek to provide those children and young people with opportunities to participate in activities designed to promote their wellbeing
  • take such action as it considers appropriate to help those children and young people to:
    • access opportunities it provides in pursuance of paragraph
    • make use of services, and access support, which it provides
  • take such other action as it considers appropriate for the purposes of improving the way in which it exercises its functions in relation to those children and young people.

National Policy Context

The section below provides an overview of the most relevant national policies to the A96 Corridor Review. A detailed policy context is provided in the SEqIA Scoping Report (Transport Scotland (2022) A96 Corridor Review Social and Equality Impact Assessment Scoping Report (unpublished)).

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4)

NPF4 is a long-term plan providing the vision and spatial strategy for Scotland to 2045 and provides guidance as to where development and infrastructure should be planned ( Scottish Government (2023) National Planning Framework 4: revised draft ) .

NPF4 identifies six overarching principles to support the delivery of future places. These are:

  • Just transition
  • Conserving and recycling assets
  • Local living
  • Compact urban growth
  • Rebalanced development
  • Rural revitalisation.

Applying these spatial principles will support the delivery of:

  • Sustainable places where we reduce emissions, restore and better connect biodiversity
  • Liveable places where we can all live better, healthier lives
  • Productive places where we have a greener, fairer and more inclusive wellbeing economy.

National Transport Strategy 2 (NTS2)

NTS2 ( Transport Scotland (2020) National Transport Strategy 2. ) outlines Scotland’s transport vision for the next 20 years through the following four priorities:

  • reduce inequalities
  • taking climate action
  • delivering inclusive economic growth
  • improving health and wellbeing.

The following transport challenges are identified through NTS2:

  • Poverty and child poverty : transport can represent significant cost in terms of accessing essential services and plays a crucial part in accessing education, employment and preventing social isolation.
  • Age: availability, cost and personal safety are key issues for young people.
  • Health and active travel: increasing the number of people walking and cycling, especially for short journeys, can have a big impact on individual health and wellbeing.

Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR)

STPR ( Transport Scotland (2008) Strategic Transport Projects Review. ) outlines Scottish Government’s 29 transport investment priorities over the period to 2032 (Transport Scotland, 2008).

The review recognises the central role of transport; “An efficient transport system is one of the key enablers for enhancing productivity and delivering faster, more sustainable economic growth”.

The following objectives were identified for the corridor between Inverness and Aberdeen specifically to:

  • improve connectivity, particularly by public transport between Inverness city centre and the growth area to the east including Inverness Airport
  • improve journey time and increase opportunities to travel, particularly by public transport, between Aberdeen and Inverness
  • reduce the accident rate and severity rate to current national average.

Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 (STPR2)

The second strategic transport review ( Transport Scotland (2022) Strategic Transport Projects Review 2 ) informs transport investment in Scotland and helps to deliver the visions, priorities and outcomes set out in the NTS2 (Transport Scotland, 2022).

STPR2 has five key objectives that it aims to address:

  • taking climate action
  • addressing inequalities and accessibility
  • improving health and wellbeing
  • supporting sustainable economic growth
  • increasing safety and resilience.

Over a 20-year period (2022-2042), the SPTR2 aims to:

  • enhance accessibility across Scotland for residents, visitors and businesses
  • create better connectivity with sustainable, smart and cleaner transport options
  • highlight the vital contribution that transport investment can play in enabling and sustaining Scotland’s economic growth.