Meetings relating to the A9 Dualling Project: EIR release

Information requested

1) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A9 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

2) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government officials on the topic of the A9 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

3) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A96 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

4) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government officials on the topic of the A96 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

5) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the Nairn Bypass, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

6) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government officials on the topic of the Nairn Bypass and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021.

I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

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.

You clarified that 'Scottish Government officials' is intended to mean 'Scottish Government Ministers' which is the approach which has been taken for this response. For your awareness, when referring to the A9 Dualling Programme: the terms 'Project' and 'Programme' are used interchangeably.

1) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A9 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. The impact reports and consultationsfor the A9 Dualling Programme are available on the Transport Scotland website.

A9 Dualling Perth to Inverness

We have also applied this regulation to Annex A from the period from May 2021 to November 2023 and July 2024 to August 2025.

This information has been released under Freedom of Information which can be accessed via the Scottish Government’s website online at: Publications - gov.scot.

Please see list below of relevant reference numbers and links to publicly available ministerial, Inquiry into A9 Dualling and Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee (CPPPC) meetings on the A9 Dualling Programme:

• EIR 202300344769
• EIR 202300385118
• EIR 202200334072
• EIR 202300364187
• EIR 202400421477
• Inquiry into A9 Dualling Project | Scottish Parliament Website
• Written Submissions – October 2023
• Responses – November 2023 – February 2024
• Calls for views (closed) – August 2023 – September 2023
• Timeline – February 2023 – May 2024
• Meetings – June 2023 – October 2024
• Written Evidence – December 2023 – October 2024
• Report – November 2024
• Correspondence – October 2023 – April 2025
• Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee Meetings 2021 - Present | Scottish Parliament Website
• Virtual Meetings
• Official Reports
• Meeting Minutes

Please refer to Annex A in response to your request for information which includes meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A9 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021 to 6 August 2025 (the date of your request).

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception. This exception has been applied to Annex A.

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 an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information because it is internal communications about the A9 Dualling programme. This exception has been applied to Annex A contained within this response. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.

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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications.

2) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government Ministers on the topic of the A9 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

Date of Request	MSP Requesting	Request Response
5 July 2021	Mairi Gougeon MSP	Accepted
27 January 2022	Fergus Ewing MSP	Rejected
7 June 2022	John Swinney MSP	Rejected
5 April 2023	John Swinney MSP	Accepted
12 May 2023	Fergus Ewing MSP	Accepted
30 June 2023	John Swinney MSP	Accepted
27 July 2023	Fergus Ewing MSP	Accepted
3 November 2023	Fergus Ewing MSP	Rejected
25 March 2024	Fergus Ewing MSP	Rejected
28 April 2025	Fergus Ewing MSP	Accepted
27 May 2025	John Swinney MSP	Rejected

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 subsequent impact reports or consultations have taken place as a result of the meetings above.

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 subsequent impact reports or consultations following meetings between MSPs and Scottish Government Ministers, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

3) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A96 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

Please refer to Annex B in response to your request for information which includes meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the A96 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021 to 6 August 2025 (the date of your request).

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. The impact reports and consultations for the A96 Dualling Programme are available on the Transport Scotland website.

A96 Dualling Inverness to Aberdeen | Transport Scotland

We have also applied this regulation to Annex B from the period from May 2021 to October 2021, January 2022 to 09 December 2022, and January 2024 to 19 November 2024. This information has been released under Freedom of Information which can be accessed via the Scottish Government’s website online at; Publications - gov.scot.

Please see list below of relevant reference numbers:
• EIR 202100216548
• EIR 202300376456
• EIR 202100251442
• EIR 202200305664
• EIR 202200334072
• EIR 202400423416
• EIR 202400421478
• EIR 202400441545

An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party 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 exception 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 exception. This exception has been applied to Annex B.

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 an exception under regulation 10(4)(e) of the EIRs (internal communications) applies to some of the information because it is internal communications about the A96 dualling programme. This exception has been applied to Annex B contained within this response. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.

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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government, and to inform public debate. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining high quality policy and decision-making, and in the properly considered implementation and development of policies and decisions. This means that Ministers and officials need to be able to consider all available options and to debate those rigorously, to fully understand their possible implications.

4) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government officials on the topic of the A96 Dualling Project, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

Date of Request	MSP Requesting	Request Response
08 February 2022	Richard Lochhead MSP	Accepted
24 September 2022	Gillian Martin MSP	Accepted
11 April 2023	Richard Lochhead MSP	Accepted
15 June 2023	Richard Lochhead MSP	Accepted
26 January 2024	Douglas Lumsden MSP	Accepted

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. The impact reports and consultationsfor the A96  Dualling Programme are available on the Transport Scotland website.

A96 Dualling Inverness to Aberdeen | Transport Scotland

5) A record of all meetings involving Scottish Government Ministers and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the Nairn Bypass, and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each meeting, the subject of each meeting, which Scottish Government official(s) were in attendance, the name of other individuals and/or organisations in attendance; and any minutes or other documents regarding the meeting that are fit for disclosure.

Please refer to Annex B in response to your request for information which includes meetings involving Scottish Government officials and any internal or external parties (such as individuals, campaign organisations, Transport Scotland representatives, other elected officials) on the topic of the Nairn Bypass and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021 to 6 August 2025 (the date of your request).

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. The impact reports and consultations for the A96 Dualling Inverness to Nairn (including Nairn Bypass) are available on the Transport Scotland website.

A96 Inverness to Nairn including Nairn Bypass | Transport Scotland

We have also applied this regulation to Annex B from the period from 1 May 2021 to 6 August 2025.

This information has been released under Freedom of Information which can be accessed via the Scottish Government’s website online at; Publications - gov.scot.

Please see list below of relevant reference numbers:
• EIR 202100216548
• EIR 202200324323
• EIR 202100251442
• EIR 202200305664
• EIR 202200334072
• EIR 202300356405
• EIR 202300369829
• EIR 202300376421
• EIR 202400423416
• EIR 202400421478

6) A record of all meeting requests from Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to Scottish Government officials on the topic of the Nairn Bypass and subsequent Impact Reports and consultations since May 1st, 2021. I'd like to know the date of each request with the name of each MSP who made such a request, as well as information on whether each request was accepted or rejected by Scottish Government Officials.

Date of Request	MSP Requesting	Request Response
1 February 2021	Fergus Ewing MSP	Rejected
3 May 2023	Drew Hendry MP	Accepted
5 May 2023	Fergus Ewing MSP	Accepted
24 July 2023	Fergus Ewing MSP	Accepted

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. The impact reports and consultations for the A96 Dualling Programme are available on the Transport Scotland website.

A96 Dualling Inverness to Aberdeen | Transport Scotland

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.

EIR 202500479110 - Information released - Annex A

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EIR 202500479110 - Information released - Annex B

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