Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) report concerning Presumed Liability in Civil Law: FOI release

Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.


Information requested

Information relating to the report prepared by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) concerning Presumed Liability in Civil Law. We understand this consultancy work was commissioned jointly by the Department for Transport and Transport Scotland and was completed in late 2021. In particular, we require the following information: -

  • Information, including sight of any written or electronic communication, detailing all reports produced by TRL on Presumed Liability in Civil Law, from January 2021 to date.
  • Information, including sight of any written or electronic communication, detailing any related documentation, including correspondence, summaries, and internal reviews connected to the submission and subsequent handling of this report.

Response

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested as follows:

Document 1 - Email chain between Department for Transport (DfT) and Transport Scotland (TS) officials discussing the status of the presumed liability research.

Document 2 - Email chain between TS officials discussing scoping phase 4 of the research project.

Document 3 - Email chain between TS officials discussing the draft final project report.

Document 4 - The final draft of the project report.

Please Note: “This report was delivered in 2021 and has not been through the Department for Transport’s analytical sign-off process. It is therefore not a final DfT research report. Its conclusions should not be separated from, and should be considered alongside, the sources of evidence presented in Work Packages one to four, which are explained and detailed in the full report. This report does not represent the views of DfT and does not indicate that this is an active area of UK Government policy development.”

Document 5 - Policy paper written by TS officials containing analysis of the draft final project report.

Document 6 - Email chain between TS officials summarising the findings of the draft final project report.

Document 7 - Technical appendix to the draft final project report.

Document 8 - Draft final project report with drafting comments from TRL officials and DfT Officials.

Please Note: “This report was delivered in 2021 and has not been through the Department for Transport’s analytical sign-off process. It is therefore not a final DfT research report. Its conclusions should not be separated from, and should be considered alongside, the sources of evidence presented in Work Packages one to four, which are explained and detailed in the full report. This report does not represent the views of DfT and does not indicate that this is an active area of UK Government policy development.”

Document 9 - Email chain between DfT, TRL and TS officials discussing publication of the final report.

Document 10 - Email from TS officials summarising the findings of the draft final report.

Document 11 - Email from DfT officials with project update.

Document 12 - TRL Workshop topic guide.

Document 13 - Study plan for TRL research.

Document 14 - Withheld (See exemptions below).

Document 15 - TRL workshop topic guides with drafting comments from TRL and DfT officials.

Document 16 - Email chain between TS officials discussing TRL study plan.

Document 17 - Email from TS officials summarising the findings of the draft final project report.

Exemptions under sections 36(1) and 38(1)(b) of FOISA apply to some the information you have requested.

Exemption 36(1) applies to a document that was within the scope of your request. The document has been withheld in full because it is a record of communication between a Transport Scotland policy officer and a Scottish Government legal adviser and therefore contains information subject to "Legal Advice Privilege". This exemption is subject to the public interest test. It is well established that there is a strong inherent public interest in maintaining the right to confidentiality of communications between a legal adviser and their client. This interest outweighs the public interest in the disclosure of this information which does not contain anything of substantive relevance to the subject of the request.

Exemption 38(1)(b) applies to the withholding of third party personal data. This exemption is not subject to the public interest case.

About FOI

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

Contact

Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000

The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

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