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Scottish Government submission of 21 November 2021

PE1804/SS - Halt Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd's Air Traffic Management Strategy

I am writing in follow up to my letter of 12 October in which I undertook to provide you with an update following the Assurance of Action Plan review which was due to be conducted in the week commencing 25 October.

The Assurance of Action Plan was set in the context of the Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) announcement of 25 October that a framework for discussion had been agreed with Prospect to establish a new way forward for the implementation of the Air Traffic Management Strategy (ATMS) Programme. Programme delivery activities are largely paused to enable further delivery options to be appraised.

The Assurance of Action Plan was carried out by an independent review team leader who reviewed the appropriateness of the action taken by HIAL in response to the recommendations of the assurance health check carried out in January 2021. The review team leader found that HIAL had responded positively to all of the health check recommendations and confirmed that 10 of the 12 recommendations could now be closed. A further recommendation relating to the inclusion of material in the Programme Management Manual can be readily closed once a minor action has been completed. The remaining recommendation, relating to project governance within the Programme, is to be further reviewed once a decision is taken on future delivery options.

The Digital Assurance Office, Portfolio, Programme and Project Assurance team and HIAL will continue to liaise to ensure that appropriate assurance arrangements are planned in as decisions are taken on the Programme’s direction. The next assurance point is expected to be in Spring 2022.