Publication - FOI/EIR release

Road maintenance funding formula: EIR release

Published: 18 March 2025
Directorate: Local Government and Housing Directorate
Topic: Money and tax, Public sector, Transport
FOI reference: EIR/202500449587
Date received: 4 December 2024
Date responded: 3 March 2025

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

Information requested

Road Maintenance funding formula

Please share any documentation, communications/emails or meetings where the multiplication of road length by number of roads was discussed. This includes but is not limited to Ministerial meetings/comms. I'm particularly interested any consideration around why the formula assumes a single lane road will need only half as much funding as a two lane road. If it would take too long to understand whether specifically this subjects were discussed, please broaden my request to any doc/emails/minutes where the Road Maintenance funding formula was discussed.

A break down of the total length of single lane roads for each local authority area. I'm unable to find the complete data anywhere and SG will have held this to calculate Road Maintenance allocations.

Detail on how the weighting for vehicle type is calculated. I'm unable to find the formula for how SG calculates weightings applied to different kinds of vehicles in what numbers.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-green-book-2023-24/pages/77/

The 'vehicle type' data SG used to calculate the weighting based on vehicle type.

Detail around how vehicle type data is collected. I'm particularly interested in any consideration given to how to calculate infrequent but heavy vehicles on rural roads.

Response

For the purpose of answering this question I have separated your request into the questions outlined below.

1. “Please share any documentation, communications/emails or meetings where the multiplication of road length by number of roads was discussed. This includes but is not limited to Ministerial meetings/comms. I'm particularly interested any consideration around why the formula assumes a single lane road will need only half as much funding as a two lane road. If it would take too long to understand whether specifically this subjects were discussed, please broaden my request to any doc/emails/minutes where the Road Maintenance funding formula was discussed.”

Please see attached documents titled 'Road maintenance calculations' ,

'Road maintenance data' and 'Road-length definition' for information containing the road maintenance data formula.

2. “A break down of the total length of single lane roads for each local authority area. I'm unable to find the complete data anywhere and SG will have held this to calculate Road Maintenance allocations.”

Please see attached spreadsheet titled ‘Road Length Calculations’

3. “Detail on how the weighting for vehicle type is calculated. I'm unable to find the formula for how SG calculates weightings applied to different kinds of vehicles in what numbers.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-local-government-finance-green-book-2023-24/pages/77/”

Please see attached document titled 'Road Maintenance Data'

4. “The 'vehicle type' data SG used to calculate the weighting based on vehicle type.”

Please see attached spreadsheet titled ‘Road usage statistics’

5. “Detail around how vehicle type data is collected. I'm particularly interested in any consideration given to how to calculate infrequent but heavy vehicles on rural roads."

Please see attached spreadsheet titled ‘Road usage statistics'

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.