202300363706 · FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Dates of winter salting on trunk roads A68 and A7: FOI release
Information requested
Can you please supply dates of winter salting on trunk roads A68 and A7 from 1/10/22 to 15/6/23.
Please include any winter salting after 15/6/23.
If this information cannot be provided, please confirm the public body or authority who can be contacted to initiate a freedom of information request
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
Please see Annex A to this response for some of the information you requested regarding details of precautionary treatments carried out on the A68 trunk road network during the winter 2022/23 season which runs from 1st October to 15th May. Please be advised the information provided at Annex A for the A68 is for the highest route (elevation) thus providing the greatest number of dates for when treatment was carried out. The lower route extending to Carter Bridge had 9 fewer treatment dates and as such would not alter the information provided at Annex A.
Please see Annex B to this response for some of the information you requested regarding details of precautionary treatments carried out on the A7 Scottish trunk road network during the winter 2022/23 season which runs from 1st October to 15th May.
During the winter period, Traffic Scotland provides information on work carried on the trunk road network. The Gritters & Winter Salt Treatment information service operates from 1 October to the 15 May. Information including a Gritter Tracker can be found here Gritter tracker Scotland | Planned road gritting | Traffic Scotland
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. We do not have some of the information you have requested. This is because the 2022/23 winter season runs from 1 October 2022 to 15 May 2023. There is no requirement to carry out any winter treatments out with these dates.
You asked for details of winter salting carried out after 15 June 2023.
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. We do not have details of winter salting carried out after 15 June 2023.This is because the 2022/23 winter season runs from 1 October 2022 to 15 May 2023. There is no requirement to carry out any winter treatments out with these dates
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.
Detected exemption language
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. Information including a Gritter Tracker can be found here Gritter tracker Scotland | Planned road gritting | Traffic Scotland 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.