Work has begun to bring Transport Scotland 'in-house' in the Scottish Government and is expected to be completed 'roughly by the turn of the financial year', transport secretary Stephen Flynn has revealed.
The cabinet secretary for economy, tourism and transport was quizzed by Holyrood's Transport Committee on the plans, which were part of the Scottish National Party's manifesto for the Parliament election in May. The SNP won the election but fell short of an overall majority at Holyrood.
Transport Scotland is currently an executive agency and the plan is to bring it into the core of the Scottish Government under greater direct ministerial oversight.
The Scottish Government has said that no decisions have been taken on the detailed organisational arrangements.
Mr Flynn said the process was in an early stage but that Transport Scotland now sits under the remit of Gregor Irwin, director-general economy for the Scottish Government, who oversees the implementation of Scotland's economic strategy and drives cross-government alignment on commercial and financial priorities.
The transport secretary would not be drawn when questioned if there was anything wrong with Transport Scotland but described the governmental landscape as 'cluttered' and suggested the move would help 'streamline' operations.
Earlier this year, in response to a Parliamentary question, Mr Flynn said: 'The current transport system does many things well but it has evolved incrementally into a complex landscape of national bodies, agencies and local actors, with blurred accountabilities, mixed levels of integration and strategic coherence. And it has not been reviewed for almost twenty years.
'Further incremental change will not deliver the transformation needed or the outcomes the communities and businesses of Scotland expect. The time is now right to review the entire system of how transport is delivered across Scotland and deliver bold reform with a clear focus on ensuring Scotland's publicly owned transport bodies support better integration of services and maximise the impact of public investment.'
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The purpose of Public Service Reform is to ensure public services and public bodies are organised in the most effective way to deliver for the people of Scotland.
'Transport Scotland has played a pivotal role in delivering Scotland's transport ambitions over nearly two decades and is central to delivering economic growth, connectivity and opportunity.
'Bringing Transport Scotland into core Scottish Government is about ensuring transport sits at the heart of Government as we deliver our ambitions for economic growth and public service reform.
'The reform is intended to strengthen accountability, simplify governance arrangements and support closer alignment between transport policy, delivery and wider Government priorities.'
