Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/18/00747
Date received: 9 March 2018
Date responded: 6 April 2018

Information requested

1. The volume of fuel, broken down into both petrol and diesel, has gone missing from AWPR sites since the start of the project.

2. The total estimated cost of the missing fuel, broken down into petrol and diesel during the same time frame?

3. Are there any security measures to prevent people stealing fuel from the AWPR site to use for non-Transport Scotland purposes, and if so, what are they?

4. How long have each of those security measures been in place?

5. Has an investigator or an investigative team been told in to look into claims that hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of fuel have been stolen from the AWPR project?

6. Finally, could you please tell me the total fuel stocks on the AWPR, broken down into both petrol and diesel, for each month since the start of 2016 up to and including the date of the receipt of this email?

As 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.

Response

1. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. This information is not held by Transport Scotland, nor is it held on our behalf. 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 volume of fuel missing from the AWPR/B-T site, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

2. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. This information is not held by Transport Scotland, nor is it held on our behalf. 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 cost of missing fuel from the AWPR/B-T site, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

3. An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) applies to the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of industrial information provided by Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the contractor for the project, and thus cause substantial harm to their interests. Disclosure of this information could identify the project site as a potential target for criminal activity and compromise the integrity of its security.

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. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the industrial interests of companies which enter into Transport Scotland contracts.

4. An exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) applies to the information you have requested. This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of industrial information provided by Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL), the contractor for the project, and thus cause substantial harm to their interests. Disclosure of this information could identify the project site as a potential target for criminal activity and compromise the integrity of its security.  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. We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the industrial interests of companies which enter into Transport Scotland contracts.

5. The responsibility for the security of materials on the AWPR/B-T site rests with ARL. ARL has confirmed it is not aware of any current incidents and has robust security systems in place.

6. Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. This information is not held by Transport Scotland, nor is it held on our behalf.

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 total fuel stocks on the AWPR/B-T project, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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