A898 slip road from Erskine Bridge to Great Western Road: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
FOI reference: FOI/18/02131
Date received: 9 August 2018
Date responded: 5 September 2018
Information requested
We would be grateful if you would provide us with:
1. details of your roads inspection policy in force as at 30/05/2018;
2. details of your roads repair policy in force as at 30/05/2018;
3. inspection records relating to the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018;
4. records of any complaints relating to the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018;
5. details relating to the presence of potholes on the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIR’s), 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.
1. 1. Transport Scotland’s approach to the maintenance of the trunk road network is set out in the 4th Generation Term Contract for management and maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network.
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/35900/sw-combi.pdf
- Schedule 7: Part 1 of the contract provides an overview of inspections, surveys and defect categories.
"Category 1 Defect" means a Defect that necessitates prompt attention because it presents:
(i) an immediate or imminent hazard, or
(ii) a risk of rapid structural deterioration to the affected element.
"Category 2 Defect" means any Defect which is not a Category 1 Defect.”
In addition, the following extract is taken from Schedule 7 Part 1 of the 4th Generation Term Contract for Management and Maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network:
“2. DEFECT CATEGORIES AND RESPONSE TIMES
2.1 Classification of Category 1 and Category 2 Defects.
2.1.1 When classifying Category 1 and Category 2 Defects, the Operating Company shall give consideration to the potential impact on all road users including motorists, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, equestrians and disabled users.
2.1.2 The Operating Company shall comply with the provisions of the Transport Scotland Trunk Road Inspection Manual regarding classification of Defects.
2.1.3 The Transport Scotland Trunk Road Inspection Manual is deemed not to contain an exhaustive compendium of Defects. In the absence of a description of a Defect in the Transport Scotland Trunk Road Inspection Manual, the Operating Company shall make the classification from first principles.”
The following extract is taken from Schedule 7, Part 1 of the 4th Generation Term Contract for management and maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network and details the timescales for repairing defects:
“2.2 Category 1 Defects Response Times
2.2.1 Unless stated otherwise in this Part, Category 1 Defects shall be dealt with by the Operating Company in priority order as stated in paragraph 2.2 of this Part.
2.2.2 The Operating Company's inspection team or initial Incident Response Resources shall make the Category 1 Defect safe when identified. This shall be through executing immediate repairs, removing the hazard or by taking any other measures necessary to protect the public and other users of the Unit.
2.2.3 Where a Category 1 Defect renders a Trunk Road unsafe for road users, the Operating Company shall, under Police instruction or on receipt of an appropriate Order, close the relevant part of the Trunk Road for as short a period as possible while remedial action is undertaken.
2.2.4 Where a Category 1 Defect cannot be repaired immediately or the hazard cannot be removed, the Operating Company shall take action to make the area safe until the required temporary or permanent repairs have been completed.
2.2.5 The temporary or permanent repairs shall be undertaken as soon as possible and no later than:
(i) 06:00 on the day following identification for Category 1 Defects on carriageways, and
(ii) within 24 hours of identification for all other Category 1 Defects.
2.2.6 Where a temporary repair has been carried out, the deferred permanent repair period for the following Defect types shall be:
(i) 28 days for carriageway surface, and
(ii) 56 days for Bridge parapets.
2. Please refer to Annex A which details Transport Scotland’s roads repair policy in force as at 30/05/2018;
3. Please refer to Annex B which is the inspection records relating to the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018;
4. Please refer to Annex C which is the records of any complaints relating to the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018. An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.
5. Please refer to Annex B and Annex D which details potholes on the A898 slip road from the Erskine Bridge to the Great Western Road, westbound in the period 30/05/2016 to 30/05/2018. We have also applied exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information), to this Annex.
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