Section 2 - Engagement and information gathering

Engagement approach

There was direct engagement with the Scottish Traffic Commissioner about the franchising proposal approval process when it was introduced under the Transport (Scotland) Bill in 2017. However, further engagement took place in 2021, alongside the public consultation mentioned below, which focused on the membership of the panels and their functions under the new franchising model. In preparing these regulations, officials have worked closely with the TC to ensure the legislation supports the Scottish Traffic Commissioner in convening the panels.

Public Consultation

A public consultation on the implementation of the bus provisions, including the makeup and functions of the panels for the franchising process contained in Part 3 of the 2019 Act took place between 14 July to 6 October 2021. A total of 67 written representations were received from 42 organisations and 25 individuals, including local transport authorities, regional transport partnerships, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (CoSLA), trade unions, representatives of bus operators, the third sector, and bus user representatives.

The analysis of the responses was published on the Transport Scotland website, and where respondents gave permission for their responses to be made public, we also published these on the Transport Scotland website. We have taken full account of the consultation responses in preparing this Scottish statutory instrument.

Regarding the responses to the questions on the make-up and functions of the panel, responses were mixed with local transport authorities and regional transport partnerships stressing the need for the panel process to adopt a “balanced, objective, evidenced-based and transparent perspective, and should not create an undue barrier in exercising the franchising powers inserted in the 2001 Act”.

There were several comments about the make-up of the panel with mixed responses on the skills and experience members should have to undertake the role of a panel member. Another key theme from the responses to the 2021 public consultation was the need to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest, and if a conflict of interest is discovered, this should lead to immediate removal of the relevant person from the panel.

Internal SG engagement/ engagement with wider Public Sector

Internal SG engagement

For the development of these regulations, discussions took place with colleagues within the Transport Scotland Bus, Accessibility and Active Travel Directorate and wider Transport Scotland and Scottish Government.

UK/ Devolved Administrations

As noted above, we also engaged with the TC, which is a non-departmental tribunal public body that is sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT) and supported by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).

Although independent from Government there is a need for the TCs to work closely with UK and Scottish Government officials. This applies in setting and achieving strategic objectives and providing advice when required on draft legislation. We have specifically sought information from the TC on the potential financial impacts of the Scottish Traffic Commissioner’s new duties in relation to the franchising powers as the TC noted the likely financial burdens which will arise from the operation of these panels. The TC shared information on the financial costs associated with the operation of the Quality Contract Scheme Boards, one of which was convened in 2011/2012 to consider Nexus’ franchising proposals and can be found in section 3 of this assessment.

Wider Public Sector

We have also had regular engagement with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) about the overall franchising process, and with local transport authorities both directly and through the Association of Transport Coordinating Officers (ATCO), and CoSLA on the development of the panel process.

The results of the 2021 public consultation and the subsequent engagement, including regular meetings with the stakeholders listed above, have helped to inform the development of these regulations and this feeds into our impact assessment below.

International

Not applicable, as there are no international implications to these regulations.

Business / Third Sector engagement

We received feedback from a number of bus operators on our 2021 public consultation about the implementation of the bus provisions under the 2019 Act. The feedback on the franchising model was focused on the make-up and the functions of the franchising panels. We also received representations from the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) Scotland about the wider franchising powers within the 2019 Act. CPT is recognised by both the UK and Scottish Governments as a national trade association that represents the views of operators for the bus and coach industry. CPT has over 800 members across the UK who range from multi-national operators to small family businesses.

In developing the 2019 Act and the subsequent regulations, we have had regular meetings with CPT to discuss the bus provisions, including a virtual workshop that was held in March 2021 to discuss in more detail the implementation of the new bus provisions. Among other things this addressed the franchising framework model and its operation.

Public consultation

In July 2021, we published a public consultation about the implementation of the new bus provisions, in which we examined in more detail the functions and makeup of the panels when considering local transport authorities‘ franchising proposals. The analysis indicated that 22 responses were received which appeared to agree with the policy approach to these regulations, stressing the importance of the decisions of the panels being fully justified, transparent and accountable. We do not intend to re-run the public consultation on the principle of the franchising approval process or on these regulations.

Other stakeholders

Relevant stakeholder groups, including Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), trade unions, such as the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), Unison and individual bus operators have provided feedback in relation to the development of these regulations.