Total cost of works on the A9: EIR release

Information requested

The total cost of works on the A9 in the 2023-2024 financial year and 2024-2025 financial year.

On 26 August you clarified your request covered both maintenance works and dualling of the A9 Trunk Road.

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 enclose a some of the information you requested.

Total spend on the A9 Dualling Programme for financial year 2023/24 is £18,215,184.19 inclusive of VAT where applicable.

Total spend on the A9 Dualling Programme for financial year 2024/25 up to the date of your request, 23 August 2024, is £8,884,664.70 inclusive of VAT where applicable.

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 the full spend for the financial year 2024/25 is not yet known.

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 the total spend on the A9 Dualling Programme for financial year 2024/25, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

Total spend of maintenance works on the A9 for the financial year 2023/24 is £24,944,351.00 inclusive of VAT where applicable.

Total spend of maintenance works on the A9 for the financial year 2024/25 is not yet available.

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 the maintenance spend on the A9 Trunk Road for the financial year 2024/25 is not yet available.

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 the maintenance spend for the A9 Trunk Road for the financial year 2024/25, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

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.