Roadworks closures, costs and mileage: EIR release

Information requested

1. How many miles of road per local authority were worked on in the last three years? Please break down by years and share the raw data files if possible.
2. How many miles of road were closed per local authority in the last three years? Please break down by years and share the raw data if possible.
3. How many miles of road per local authority will be worked on in the next 12 months?
4. How many miles of road will be closed in the next 12 months?
5. How much money has been invested in road improvements in the last three years? Please break down by years if possible.
6. Any other factors that lead to one or more lanes being closed for a significant amount of time, around 3 or more hours.

Clarification 14/04/2022: 'road improvements' refers here to trunk road and motorway maintenance (surfacing, patching, grass cutting, drain cleaning) and bridge maintenance (repair, strengthening, painting, parapet replacement).

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

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not hold details of works for council areas.

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 roadworks within individual councils, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

2. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not hold details of road closures for council areas.

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 road closures within individual councils, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not hold details of scheduled roadworks for the next year for council areas.

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 scheduled roadworks for the next year within individual councils, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

4. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because Transport Scotland does not hold details of the number of miles of roads due to be closed in the next year.

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 number of miles of roads due to be closed in the next year, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

5. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Transport Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. This is because local roads are the responsibility of the local authority as it is also the local roads authority. We, through our Trunk Road Operating Companies, are responsible for the management and maintenance of the strategic trunk road network including motorways and therefore the figures provided are for the trunk road network only.

In the last three years Transport Scotland has invested £843,146,221.25 in road improvements for the trunk road network. Annex A to this response breaks this figure down into financial years for our 4 Operating Companies (South West /South East/North West and North East Units). Forth Bridge figures are up to August 2021, thereafter are included in the SE unit figures. Grass cutting and patching figures are included in the routine and cyclic maintenance spend.

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 our Operating Companies and thus cause substantial harm to their commercial interests. In relation to our DBFO (Design, Build, Finance and Operate) contracts, these are stand-alone companies who operate DBFO sections of the Trunk Road Network for a set period of time, normally 30 years. These companies have their own shareholders and financial information and expenditure which is confidential.

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.

6. Other factors that lead to one or more lanes being closed for a significant amount of time, around 3 or more hours include (this list is not exhaustive):

• road traffic collisions
• police incidents
• weather-related incidents such as snow, landslides floods, wind blowing down trees / blowing vehicles over
• broken down vehicles / vehicles on fire
• works being carried out by utility services.

 

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.

202200293022_Annex A

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