A9 Dualling Project Expenses: EIR release

Information requested

Please provide the following information

1. A detailed breakdown of spending on dualling the A9 from 2007 to present day on a project by project basis, listing area of spending and expense made on that area. I would like this provided to the most granular level of detail you have stored.

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.

Please find attached table detailing breakdown of spend on the A9 Dualling Programme from 2012 to the date of your request, 4 October 2023. The figures provided are inclusive of VAT where applicable.

To note, the figures reported do not include spend on land, compensation and maintenance period for the A9 Crubenmore Dual Carriageway Northern Extension project, which opened in September 2011.

In regards to expenditure on A9 Dualling Programme between 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011, exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held) applies.

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 A9 Dualling Programme between 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2011, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

I can confirm that Transport Scotland’s financial records for A9 Dualling Programme between 2007 and 2011 cannot be accurately calculated in the format requested due to a change in systems.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.

EIR 202300379421 - Information Released - Annex

File type

Excel document

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136.7 kB