· FOI/EIR · partially withheld
Category 1 defects identified on A82: EIR release
Information requested
How many of the 44 Category 1 defects (between Drumnadrochit and Inverness) were repaired within the time specified within the BEAR Scotland contract, and the same for the further ten identified following the next inspection which I assume took place on either the 14th or 15th of February.
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.
In response to your request, from 10 January to 14 February 2018, a total of 44 Category 1 pothole defects were recorded in our asset management system, by BEAR Scotland for the A82 between Drumnadrochit and Inverness. 40 of these defects were repaired within the required time frame as per the 4th Generation Term Contract for Management and Maintenance of the Scottish Trunk Road Network North West Unit. For your information, a link to the contract is available here:
https://www.transport.gov.scot/media/35899/nw-combi.pdf
In relation to the 44 defects, from 10 January to 6 February there were 29 category 1 pothole defects recorded. On the inspection of 7 February a further 10 were recorded. On 14 February inspection 5 pothole defects were recorded. Please see attached Annex A with the inspection records.
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.