A9 dualling investment: EIR release

Information requested

1. Total amount of money invested, per financial year, into all A9-related costs, between 2021-2022 and present date by the Scottish Government.
2. Total amount of money projected to be invested, per financial year, from present date to the end of 2026 into all A9-related costs by the Scottish Government.
3. Total amount of money invested, per year, into A9 dualling, between 2021-2022 and present date by the Scottish Government.
4. Total amount of money projected to be invested, per financial year, from present date to the end of 2026-2027 into A9 dualling by the Scottish Government.
5. Total amount of money spent by the Scottish Government, from 2007-2008 to present date, into A9 dualling by the Scottish Government.
6. In present-day GBP, Transport Scotland’s current best working estimate for the remaining cost of dualling the entire A9.

Response

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 responded to each of your questions below;

1. Total amount of money invested, per financial year, into all A9-related costs, between 2021-2022 and present date by the Scottish Government.

Please see the following table below for details of maintenance spend on the A9 trunk road for the North East (NE) Trunk Road Unit and the North West (NW) Trunk Road Unit respectively, from the 2021/22 financial year until 2024/25.

Financial Year	NE	NW	Total
2021/22	7,649,255	20,582,512	£28,231,767
2022/23	4,031,898	24,075,301	£28,107,199
2023/24	6,058,855	24,943,260	£31,002,115
2024/25	6,430,119	36,865,462	£43,295,581

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not have some of the information you have requested because we currently only hold figures for maintenance of the A9 trunk road up to 31 March 2025.

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 maintenance spend on the A9 trunk road, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

In regards to spend on the A9 Dualling, please see the following table detailing A9 Dualling Programme expenditure from the 2021/2022 financial year to the date of your request, 4 June 2025. Please note that the figures provided are inclusive of VAT where applicable. The figures include spend for taking the various component projects through design and statutory process stages, acquisition of land, demolition and preparatory works, procurement of contractors to construct the works, as well as costs of construction works undertaken to date.

Financial Year	Total
2021-2022	£55,100,434.40
2022-2023	£29,209,519.10
2023-2024	£19,946,265.07
2024-2025	£37,493,091.38
2025-2026 (up to 4 June 2025)	£2,305,009.89

2. Total amount of money projected to be invested, per financial year, from present date to the end of 2026 into all A9-related costs by the Scottish Government.

Please see the following table for the estimated maintenance spend for the A9 trunk road for the North East (NE) Trunk Road Unit and the North West (NW) Trunk Road Unit respectively, for the financial years 2025/26 and 2026/27. It should be noted that these figures are very likely to change, especially the 2026/27 figures, as budgets are currently unconfirmed and schemes may be subject to other competing priorities.

Financial Year	NE	NW	Total
2025/26	£3,665,677	£26,622,550	£30,288,227
2026/27	£3,984,200	£4,918,850	£8,903,050

In regards to projected spend on the A9 Dualling, please see the following table detailing projected spend on the A9 Dualling Programme for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 financial years. Please note that the figures provided are inclusive of VAT where applicable. The figures include projected spend for taking the various component projects through design and statutory process stages, acquisition of land, demolition and preparatory works, procurement of contractors to construct the works, as well as costs of construction works. Please note that projected spend does not confirm budget allocation, which is subject to annual Scottish Government budget processes, and that two figures are provided for projected spend in the 2026/27 financial year, reflecting different procurement approaches which are subject to further decision-making later this year.

Financial Year	Total
2025-2026	£112,487,000
2026-2027	£190,058,000/£192,885,000

3. Total amount of money invested, per year, into A9 dualling, between 2021-2022 and present date by the Scottish Government.

You confirmed on 10 June that you are requesting information for question 3 to be by calendar year.

Transport Scotland does not hold the information requested in calendar years, we do however hold this information in financial years. Please refer to the answer to question 1 for this information.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not hold the information you have requested in the calendar year format.

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 spend on the A9 Dualling in calendar year format, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

4. Total amount of money projected to be invested, per financial year, from present date to the end of 2026-2027 into A9 dualling by the Scottish Government.

Please refer to the answer to question 2 for this information.

5. Total amount of money spent by the Scottish Government, from 2007-2008 to present date, into A9 dualling by the Scottish Government.

Total spend on the A9 Dualling programme from 2012 to the date of your request, 4 June 2025 is £520,259,401.20, inclusive of VAT where applicable. This figure includes spend for taking the various component projects through design and statutory process stages, acquisition of land, demolition and preparatory works, procurement of contractors to construct the works, as well as costs of construction works undertaken to date.

Please note that data prior to 2012 is not included. Transport Scotland’s financial records for the A9 Dualling Programme prior to 2012 cannot be accurately calculated in the format requested due to a change in systems. Please refer to exception below.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. 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. While we recognise there may be some public interest in expenditure on road expansion projects for the A9 between 1 January 2007 to 2011, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

6. In present-day GBP, Transport Scotland’s current best working estimate for the remaining cost of dualling the entire A9.

Transport Scotland does not hold the information requested, as no cost estimate has been prepared in respect of the cost of dualling the entire A9. If this question relates to completion of the A9 Dualling programme, Transport Scotland does not hold the information requested in present-day GBP.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), Transport Scotland is not required to provide information which it does not have. We do not hold the information you have requested in respect of either the entire A9 or present-day GBP.

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 best working estimate for the remaining cost of dualling the entire A9 in present-day GBP (or the remaining costs of completing the A9 Dualling programme in present day GPB), clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

You may wish to note that the estimated cost at completion, in April 2023 prices, has been published on our A9 Dualling website, please refer to the “Costs” Header at the following link; A9 Background and Benefits - A9 Dualling

If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

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.