Transport Scotland and Network Rail CP6 operations: FOI release

Information requested

Correspondence between Transport Scotland and Network Rail regarding CP6 operations, maintenance and renewals funding for the dates between December 2019 and July 2020.

Response

For ease, appended to this letter, as Annex A, is a table providing a high level summary of the information Transport Scotland holds in relation to your request.

Also appended to this letter as Annex B is the information Transport Scotland is providing in response to your request.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because exemptions under section 30(b) (Substantial inhibition to free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views), section 33(1)(b) (Substantial prejudice to commercial interests) and section 38(1)(b) (personal information) apply to that information. The reason why these exemptions apply is set out in the Annex C to this letter.

Annex C
REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test

An exemption under section 30(b) of FOISA (free and frank provision of advice or exchange of views) applies to some of the information requested. This exemption applies because disclosure would, or would be likely to, inhibit substantially the free and frank exchange of views of one government agency with another government organisation. This exemption recognises the need for officials to have a private space within which to provide free and frank advice or exchange of views with another government organisation.

This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstancesof 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.

We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosing information as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, there is a greater public interest in allowing a private space within which officials can provide full and frank exchange of views, as part of the process of exploring and refining the Government’s position on the agreed approach to the funding of CP6 operations, maintenance and renewals activities. This private thinking space is essential to enable all options to be properly considered, based on the best available advice, so that good decisions can be taken. Premature disclosure is likely to undermine the full and frank discussion of issues between government officials and a third party organisation/key supplier, which in turn will undermine the quality of the decision making process, which would not be in the public interest.

An exemption applies, subject to the public interest test

An exemption under section 33(1)(b) of FOISA (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) applies to some of the information you have requested. This exemption applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information relative to Network Rail and thus cause harm to its commercial interests.

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.

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 commercial interests of companies which enter into Scottish Government contracts, to ensure that our suppliers are always able to obtain the best value for public money.

An exemption applies

An exemption under section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party, ie names and contact details of individuals and companies, 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 exemption 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 exemption.

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.

FOI - 202000089813 - Information Released - Annex A - Table of Contents

File type

5 page PDF

File size

314.2 kB

FOI - 202000089813 - Information Released - Annex B

File type

32 page PDF

File size

786.8 kB