Aberdeen to East of Huntly cost A96 program: EIR Release

Information requested

Under freedom of information, broken down by year, how much has been spent on the Aberdeen to East of Huntly stretch of the A96 dualling programme, first announced in 2011 please? This includes any costs associated with the dualling project.

Can you also tell me how much has been spent on work and investigations into the Keith Bypass as part of the A96 dualling project, first announced in 2011, broken down by year from when the announcement was made.

Response

As all of the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Please find below response to requests for information you made in your email.

Response to your request

I can advise that design work on dualling the East of Huntly to Aberdeen section of the A96 commenced in 2017. Please see table below with breakdown of costs per year from 2017 in relation to the East of Huntly to Aberdeen section:

Year	Cost
2017- 2018	£3,380,503.08
2018 - 2019	£6,864,650.39
2019 - 2020	£5,293,403.03
2020 – 2021	£4,326,687.51
2021 – 2022	£2,905,189.42
2022 - 2023	£175,907.71
2023 - 2024	£283,800.42
Total	£23,230,141.56

We are refusing the second part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not hold information on “how much has been spent on work and investigations into the Keith Bypass as part of the A96 dualling project, first announced in 2011, broken down by year from when the announcement was made.”

This exception is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in the requested information, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

Further Information

I can confirm that the Scottish Government is committed to making improvements to the A96 and will take forward take forward an enhancements programme that improves connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues.

The current plan is to fully dual the A96 and, as part of this process, we are undertaking a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme which includes a climate compatibility assessment and other statutory assessments. This is sensible good governance for major investment of this kind.

The review is being undertaken in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). It is considering the transport problems and opportunities on the A96 corridor, changing policy context and other relevant considerations such as development aspirations for the corridor and surrounding area.

A four week public consultation survey, undertaken as a key element of the review, generated unprecedented interest with almost 4,700 responses received and over 11,000 suggested options for improving the corridor.

Following publication of the initial appraisal report Initial Appraisal: Case for Change - December 2022 - A96 Corridor Review | Transport Scotland and the accompanying consultation report on 22 December 2022, I can advise that Transport Scotland has been pushing forward with the detailed appraisal work to inform the review. It is expected that the draft outcomes from the review will be consulted on in the coming months, before a final decision can be reached.

The evidence-led transport appraisal that supports the A96 Corridor Review, along with the feedback from stakeholders will assist in planning how transport improvements along the corridor are prioritised and inform our timescales going forward. As with all of our capital investment decisions, the delivery and construction of any potential transport improvements will be subject to completing the necessary statutory process and the normal capital spending review cycle and available budgets.

The evidence-led transport appraisal that supports the A96 Corridor Review, along with the feedback from stakeholders will assist in planning how transport improvements along the corridor are prioritised and inform our timescales going forward. As with all of our capital investment decisions, the delivery and construction of any potential transport improvements will be subject to completing the necessary statutory process and the normal capital spending review cycle and available budgets.

Further details of the work being undertaken as part of the A96 Corridor Review can be found on the Transport Scotland website at the following address: A96 Corridor Review | Transport Scotland

Since commencement of the A96 Corridor Review, design development of the East of Huntly to Aberdeen section has been paused pending the outcome of the Review. However, during this time, the design consultants for the scheme have continued to provide support to Transport Scotland in undertaking this robust appraisal and assessment work. Prior to the commencement of the A96 Corridor Review, design consultants were yet to be appointed to take forward the development and assessment of East of Fochabers to East of Huntly section of the A96. Future progress with improvements to this section, including Keith, is also subject to the outcomes of the Review.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.