Transport Scotland LED lighting Information: EIR release

Information requested

Thank you for your response of 25 February 2026 and for providing sample documentation relating to LED trunk road lighting, including design records, environmental management plans, and asset information.

Having reviewed the sample materials, I am writing to refine and narrow the scope of my request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, in order to focus on specific categories of information which appear to be held but were not included within the sample disclosure.

To assist in making my request proportionate and targeted, I would be content for the information below to be provided for a defined sample area or scheme, such as the Thurso area referenced in Annex C, or another representative trunk road scheme of your choosing.

I now request the following:

1. LED Lantern Technical Specifications

•  Recorded information specifying the make and model of LED lanterns used within the selected scheme(s).
•  Any associated technical specifications held by Transport Scotland or its Operating Companies, including:
•  correlated colour temperature (CCT)
•  spectral power distribution (if held)
•  photobiological safety classification (e.g. IEC/EN 62471)
•  lumen output and wattage specifications

2. Lighting Design Standards and Guidance

•  Copies of any standards, guidance documents, or technical specifications provided to or used by Operating Companies in the design of LED trunk road lighting schemes.
•  This should include any internal or contractual requirements supplementing recognised standards such as BS EN 13201 Road Lighting Standard or guidance from the Institution of Lighting Professionals.

3. Scheme-Level Environmental Consideration of Lighting

•  Any recorded information (including within environmental screening, environmental assessments, or design documentation) which considers the environmental impact of the lighting itself once operational, including but not limited to:
•  light pollution or sky glow
•  ecological or wildlife impacts
•  mitigation measures relating specifically to light emission

4. Contractor / Operating Company Design Documentation

•  Any lighting design manuals, specifications, or requirements used by Operating Companies (e.g. Amey or BEAR Scotland) when designing LED lighting schemes on behalf of Transport Scotland, insofar as these are held by or accessible to Transport Scotland.

5. Post-Installation Monitoring or Review

•  Any recorded information relating to the monitoring, review, or evaluation of LED lighting schemes after installation, including:
•  internal reviews
•  environmental monitoring
•  recorded complaints or assessments relating to lighting impacts

For clarity, I am seeking recorded information only, and I am content for:

• the request to be limited to a representative sample scheme or geographic area
• information to be provided in sample form where appropriate, consistent with your previous response.

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.

I will retain your numbering for ease, and would again extend my offer of a meeting to discuss any further specific information we could provide to help you

1. LED Lantern Technical Specifications

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. Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested because we do not hold this information directly.

Technical information such as CCT, power distribution, lumen output and wattage are contained within the electronic data files used within the lighting design software. This information can be obtained directly from the luminaire manufacturers.

In relation to the previous sample information supplied, the two schemes utilised the following luminaires:

• A83 Tarbet - Urbis Ampera Midi 5137 48 LED 500mA NW Flat Glass Extra Clear 336472 (73W)
• A9 Thurso - Urbis Ampera Midi 5137 48 LED 500mA NW Flat Glass Extra Clear 336472 (73W)

Urbis Schreder can be contacted at www.uk.schreder.com/en

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 requested above, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

2. Lighting Design Standards and Guidance

As advised in previous communications, design standards documents owned by organisations such as National Highways, the British Standards Institute, the Energy Networks Association, the Institute of Lighting Professionals, and the Institute of Engineering and Technology can be accessed and purchased through the below links.

• BSI – Browse Standards: Explore by Industry | BSI
• ILP – Resources
• National Highways – Standards For Highways
• Energy Networks Association – Standards and guidance – Energy Networks Association (ENA)
• IET – BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Wiring Regulations 18th Edition, Requirements for Electrical Installations

While Transport Scotland and its Operating Companies hold copies of these design standards documents, an exception under regulation 10(5)(e) of the EIRs (substantial prejudice to confidentiality of commercial information) applies to some of the information you have requested.

This exception applies because disclosure of this particular information would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially the confidentiality of commercial information provided by the British Standards Institute (BSI), the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), the Institute of Lighting Professionals (ILP), and the Energy Networks Association (ENA), and thus cause substantial harm to their commercial interests. Standards document available from these industry bodies are subject to copyright law, and have to be purchased from the industry body directly. As EIR responses are made publicly available, issuing these documents to you would be in breach of our responsibilities under such copyright laws.

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 a public interest in disclosing  information as part of open and transparent government, and to help account for the expenditure of public money. However, there is a greater public interest in protecting the commercial interests of companies which create and manage documentation which defines industry standards.

In addition, please see Annex A to this response for a copy of our document LDS8016 which forms part of the documentation supplied to Operating Companies as part of our Network aintenance
Contracts.

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.

3. Scheme-Level Environmental Consideration of Lighting

Please note that post installation environmental monitoring of operational lighting schemes is not a requirement of the lighting standards.

With reference to the previously provided samples of information, we hold no further post installation environmental information for these schemes.

While no information is held for these sample schemes, please see Annexes B and C to this response which are documents used as part of a sensitive environmental area project in Glencoe which may be of interest to you.

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.

4. Contractor / Operating Company Design Documentation

Please see our response to question 2 above.

5. Post-Installation Monitoring or Review

Monitoring, review, or evaluation of LED lighting schemes after installation is not routinely undertaken unless there was a specific reason for it to be done. Design calculations ensure that the correct level of lighting is achieved for the road type under consideration. Should any such monitoring be required, it would be carried out in accordance with the ILP TR28 document.

No recorded complaints or further assessments are held for the schemes used to provide samples of information issued in response to your previous query.

Monitoring of lighting functionality (“scouting”) is routinely carried out by the Operating Companies in accordance with the Network Maintenance contract terms and conditions.

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 202600511678 - Information Released - Annex A - C

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