Not such a snappy title this week, but despite my week off, I have been busy. Firstly, I hope you enjoyed Dan’s update last week. It is great that we have taken on board member feedback to focus more carefully on certain areas. Dan highlighted two priorities we will be dedicating resources to next year: practical AI support (not just theory) and supporting apprentices in the public and private sectors.
Back to this week’s View from the Top, though on leave, I took the opportunity to attend the Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal in Glasgow. My break was nearby in Edinburgh, so it was a perfect chance to pop over. The awards showcased prototypes developed from children’s ideas, brought to life with the help of businesses, universities, and the young inventors themselves. Seeing the prototypes, the teams, and the loudest cheers from the children going up on stage was a real buzz. The main entries were judged by a panel, but the public vote went to a solar-powered blanket for homeless people – a brilliant and heartwarming idea. You can read more about the entries and winners here. This week Kerry, our board member Dwayne Lowe from Bolton Council, and I will be visiting Primary Engineer to plan our 2025 sector work. It’s going to be something everyone can get involved in, so watch this space!
Anyone who knows me knows I love an institution. Being stranded in Edinburgh during a snowstorm wasn’t the worst thing – an extra day to explore meant a visit to a very wintry Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament. I loved how accessible the parliament is for the public, with secure but straightforward access. Its debating chamber is reminiscent of the UN or European Parliaments, as you can see from the main photo. If you’re ever in Edinburgh, it’s well worth a visit. There are other fascinating things I like about how the Scottish Parliament does things to encourage democratic engagement, but I’ll stop there and won’t bore you any more!
Segueing from the Scottish parliament to one of my first tasks after returning: watching the Public Accounts Committee. This relatively new committee has been looking at local roads following a report from the NAO. Although we don’t lobby, we submitted evidence to this committee to demonstrate the impact of short-term funding on SMEs and businesses and how this affects Innovation. We also raised concerns about council skills shortages, infrastructure issues, and digital obsolescence. The Committee, which you can watch here, was certainly interesting to watch.
I’m glad I didn’t attend in person as my famous head tilt when I disagree with something might have been on full display. I was disappointed that PAS2161 seemed unfamiliar to the panel, despite it being a clear outcome of the 2018 Transport Select Committee. I was also disappointed that the Community Infrastructure Levy was raised at the committee, with reference to it being a pot for maintenance. I think there is a lack of understanding around the rules of this (and ergo S106) and these are locally determined. On the bright side, our friends at AIA received plenty of mentions, and to be fair, some rather damning comments from the committee added weight to their advocacy. However, on the flip side, it was a little worrying to see misunderstandings around how highways authorities are funded through capital, revenue support grants, and other council funds.
A few of our members, Vaisala and Gaist were mentioned, which was good to see. Other discussions included the long-debated thorny issue of calculating funding based on road length versus traffic volume. This raises big questions, especially in a world where political ideologies and climate reduction push to reduce traffic and congestion – a massive debate beyond the words I have in this View from the Top. Not surprisingly, Network North was also mentioned, though no clear answers at this time (I understand this is coming).
I have mixed feelings about the committee. If it adds power to push for long-term funding for councils, then that can only be a good thing. But did it address other thorny issues? No. Was it focused on roads? Yes – though there were mentions of bridges, footways, and drainage. What word did I hear most often? “Imminent” or “imminently” from DfT Officials, and for sure, this relates to a change in Government and spending reviews. But with the end of November looming and councils still in the dark about next year’s budgets, this uncertainty really must change.
Paula Claytonsmith, CEO