Transport Scotland expenditure and records concerning Rest and Be Thankful route: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
"I’d like to request information through FOI legislation.
- How much has Transport Scotland spent on closing and temporary fixes on Rest and be Thankful and repairs on the same route, in last five years with a breakdown per year and what the money was spent on?
- Could you supply all documentation held by Transport Scotland, including correspondence sent and received (including internal), minutes/notes from meetings, briefings and analysis, about Rest and Be Thankful, from the last month?"
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.
Response to your request
- Please see Annex D for a break down per year on what Transport Scotland has spent on closing and temporary fixes on Rest and be Thankful and repairs on the same route, in last five years and what the money was spent on.
- Please see Annex's A, B and C for documentation held by Transport Scotland, about the Rest and Be Thankful, from the last month.
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 Taskforce meeting minutes are publicly available on the Transport Scotland website using the below link.
A83 Taskforce - Minute of Meeting 1 October 2025 | Transport Scotland
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’s A, B and C.
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 A83 Rest and Be Thankful programme. This exception has been applied to Annex’s A and C 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.
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