A95 Gaich to Craggan consultancy costs: EIR release

Information requested

“1. The total fees and costs incurred to Jacobs in respect of work carried out on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme, to the point at which work ceased.

2. Confirmation of the basis upon which the contract was awarded to Jacobs and information around any global arrangement in place with them in respect of other projects which shows or tends to show the cost of the work carried out on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme.

3. Confirmation of what percentage of work on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme was actually completed prior to work ceasing.

4. Confirmation of whether Jacobs have been retained to provide services to Transport Scotland on other projects, and whether they are still retained by Transport Scotland, if not whether any other consultants have been appointed to provide services which include in part or whole any work on the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme.

The information is sought for the period from 1st January 2015 to 1st January 2024.”

Response

1) Design and assessment work on the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme was instructed under the previous contract for maintenance of the North East Unit which covered the A95 Trunk Road. Jacobs consultancy services were utilised by our operating company, BEAR Scotland, to provide services to support the design and assessment of the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme. Jacobs were therefore not directly instructed by us and all fees were invoiced by BEAR Scotland. 

The total fees paid to BEAR Scotland in respect of work carried out on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme from 1 January 2015 to 1 January 2024 was approximately £813,000.

2) Please see our response to item 1 above. I confirm that there is no global arrangement in place with Jacobs in respect of other projects, and I refer you to the further information provided in my response at item 4 below.

3) 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. This is because there is no defined percentage of work that was actually completed prior to work being paused.

4) Jacobs are currently appointed under design consultancy contracts on a number of projects for Transport Scotland. No design consultants are currently appointed to provide services which include work on the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme in whole or part, however, I can confirm that Tracsis Traffic Data Limited were previously appointed to assess traffic flow counts. I can advise that none of Jacobs’ current design consultancy contracts incorporate work on the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme within their scope. 

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. This is because there is no global arrangement in place with Jacobs in respect of other projects which shows or tends to show the cost of the work carried out on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme. 

The scope of the remaining work required on the A95 Gaich to Craggan scheme will depend upon the services needed to complete the design work, conclude a Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 3 assessment and associated formal reporting, undertake further environmental surveys and complete an associated Environmental Impact Assessment. The extent of remaining work that would be necessary to enable any consultant to conclude the design and assessment process would be dependent upon a number of factors, such as the timescales during which a consultant was appointed, any associated expiry of environmental and other surveys, the outcome of any such surveys or assessment, and on any changes in design standards that may have taken place since previous work was completed. It is therefore not possible to accurately estimate what percentage of the necessary work has already been completed by Jacobs.

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 such as global arrangements with Jacobs in respect of other projects which shows or tends to show the cost of the work carried out on the A95 Gaich to Craggan Scheme along with the percentage of work carried out until work ceasing, we clearly cannot provide information which we do not hold.

Unfortunately the Scottish Government is facing an 8.7% real terms cut in its capital funding, as a result of decisions made by the UK overnment. This is significantly affecting the Scottish Government’s ability to maintain investment in not just the A95, but transport infrastructure across Scotland. The Scottish Government remains committed to investing in Scotland’s future and will regularly assess future funding and financing opportunities to deliver the right strategic assets in the right places and delivering positive outcomes for the people and businesses of Scotland.

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