The STAG Criteria capture all, or the great majority of, the impacts of a transport option, and hence provide a strategic framework which can be used in developing and setting Transport Planning Objectives. They also provide the tests which will be applied by Government wherever Government funding and/or approval is required for an option.
The STAG Criteria are:
The STAG Criteria are central to STAG, as the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland have a national role and must consider, through the application of a consistent methodology, the varying needs of different geographic areas and communities to assess the extent to which transport options represent value for money in allocating available funds. This is therefore the principal reason for carrying out detailed appraisal against these criteria.
A thorough appraisal using the STAG Criteria will also highlight to practitioners any unexpected or undesired impacts additional to those which the Transport Planning Objectives were designed to encompass.
However, while the STAG Criteria provide a framework to ensure all impacts are considered, practitioners should not begin the process of formulating their Transport Planning Objectives by considering only the national objectives. This could dilute the importance of local objectives or the inclusion of items which, for the transport planning context in question, are not relevant.
