Scotland's Trunk Road Network expenditure - resurfacing and street lights: EIR release

Information requested

I  would like to know how much money has been spent on resurfacing Scotlands Trunk Road Network since January 2018.

I  would like to know how much money has been spent on replacing/ upgrading street lights on Scotlands Trunk Road Network since January 2018.

Response

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.

I have numbered our response for ease of reference.

1. The amount of money that has been spent on resurfacing Scotland’s Trunk Road Network since January 2018 to 1 April 2019 is £85,584,361.54.

As you may be aware, Transport Scotland has contracts with ten agents that maintain each section of the Trunk Road Network. This figure excludes two agents and the reasons are listed below.

Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) Project
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs – information not held. Due to the nature of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract the costs of resurfacing works cannot be disaggregated from the monthly payment which is based on availability of the roads connected with the project.  For further information on the payment mechanism for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) Project you can view the contract documents at the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/34170/awpr-bt-contract-schedule-6-web-version.pdf

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 information about the value of the resurfacing works, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

For the area managed and operated by Aberdeen Roads Limited, please click on the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/39405/awpr-scheme-map-oct-2012.pdf

M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs – information not held. Due to the nature of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract the costs of resurfacing works cannot be disaggregated from the monthly payment which is based on availability of the roads connected with the project.  For further information on the payment mechanism for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project you can view the contract documents at the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/8153/m8m73m74-motorway-improvements-contract-schedule-6-web-version.pdf  

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 information about the value of the resurfacing works, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

For the area managed and operated by Scottish Roads Partnership, please click on the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/35612/m8-m73-m74-scheme-map.jpg

2. The total amount of money has been spent on replacing/ upgrading street lights on Scotlands Trunk Road Network since January 2018 to 1 April 2019 is £6,936,616.91. Similar to question one, this figure excludes two agents and the reasons are listed below.

Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) Project
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs – information not held. Due to the nature of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract the costs of replacing/ upgrading lighting cannot be disaggregated from the monthly payment which is based on availability of the roads connected with the project. For further information on the payment mechanism for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty (AWPR/B-T) Project you can view the contract documents at the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/34170/awpr-bt-contract-schedule-6-web-version.pdf

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 information about the value of the replacement lighting clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

For the area managed and operated by Aberdeen Roads Limited, please click on the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/39405/awpr-scheme-map-oct-2012.pdf

M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs – information not held. Due to the nature of the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) contract the costs of replacing/ upgrading lighting cannot be disaggregated from the monthly payment which is based on availability of the roads connected with the project. For further information on the payment mechanism for the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project you can view the contract documents at the following link: https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/8153/m8m73m74-motorway-improvements-contract-schedule-6-web-version.pdf

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 information about the value of the replacement lighting clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

For the area managed and operated by Scottish Roads Partnership, please click on the following link; https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/35612/m8-m73-m74-scheme-map.jpg

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.