A82 Pulpit Rock Improvements information: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Information relating to the A82 Pulpit Rock improvements from February 2013 to date, which has been separated into 12 parts for clarity.
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.
1. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing any road widening, viaduct construction, bridge installation and road closures, undertaken to the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under the exception at regulation 10(4) (b) of the EIRs a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is 'manifestly unreasonable'.
As the information requested would include all correspondence, including contractual correspondence, relating to the A82 at Pulpit Rock, which would entail significant cost and resources to be expended in assembling that information, this request is considered manifestly unreasonable.
As the exception is conditional we have applied the 'public interest test'. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing 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 communication detailing any road widening, viaduct construction, bridge installation and road closures, undertaken to the A82 at Pulpit Rock, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests.
You may however wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order to make it manageable. For example, you could specify the subject matter(s) of the communication you are interested in or restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
2. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing any risk assessments undertaken prior to and following the installation of a new viaduct to the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Following a search of records held by Transport Scotland I can confirm that the only risk assessment held in relation to the A82 at Pulpit Rock within the period concerned is a risk assessment relating to installation of road restraint systems. A copy of this risk assessment is attached.
3. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing engineering plans for the construction of the new viaduct to the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under the exception at regulation 10(4) (b) of the EIRs a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is 'manifestly unreasonable'.
As the information requested would include most, if not all, correspondence, including contractual correspondence, relating to the A82 at Pulpit Rock, which would entail significant cost and resources to be expended in assembling that information, this request is considered manifestly unreasonable.
As the exception is conditional we have applied the 'public interest test'. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing 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 communication detailing engineering plans for the construction of the new viaduct to the A82 at Pulpit Rock, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests.
You may however wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order to make it manageable. For example, you could specify the subject matter(s) of the communication you are interested in or restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.
4. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication confirming the bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Following a search of records held by Transport Scotland I can confirm that the only information held in relation to bridge expansion joints within the period concerned is within the Operation and Maintenance Manual, and relevant extracts of that manual are provided in Annex B.
5. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing the skew angle of any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no record of correspondence detailing the skew angle of any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed at A82 Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
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 communication detailing the skew angle of bridge expansion joints, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
6. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing the skid resistance of any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no record of correspondence detailing complaints regarding any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed at A82 Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
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 complaints regarding bridge expansion joints, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
7. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing the replacement of any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) The current expansion joints on A82 Pulpit Rock are the original joints that were installed during construction of the bridge in 2013-2015 and therefore there has been no correspondence within the period concerned regarding replacement of any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock.
8. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing designer’s risk assessment for any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no record of detailing designer’s risk assessments for any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed at A82 Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
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 the designer’s risk assessment, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
9. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing any risk assessments undertaken prior to and following the installation or replacement of any bridge expansion joints to the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date, including whether any consideration was given to two-wheeled road users such as motorcyclists.
A) The answer to this part of your request is addressed by the response to part 2 of your request.
10. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing complaints regarding any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no record of correspondence detailing complaints regarding any bridge expansion joints used on the new viaduct installed at A82 Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
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 complaints regarding bridge expansion joints, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
11. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing cyclic maintenance tasks, including the cleaning of debris from expansion joints, undertaken to the A82 at Pulpit Rock from October 2023 to date.
A) Please see Annex C for a structures cyclic maintenance record for A82 415 Pulpit Rock showing the most recent expansion joint cleaning in Nov 2024. Cyclic maintenance was also completed in Spring 2024 and Autumn 2023 which are within the date range requested.
12. Information including sight of any written or electronic communication detailing any reports of incidents, accidents or road traffic collisions occurring on the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
A) Please find the table in Annex D which details the reported incidents, accidents or road traffic collisions occurring at the A82 at Pulpit Rock from February 2013 to date.
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
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Edinburgh
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