· FOI/EIR · partially withheld
M8 (Baillieston-to-Newhouse) full details of the compensation sums: FOI release
Information requested
Full details of the compensation sums agreed by (or on behalf of) The Scottish Ministers with all claimants affected by the above mentioned Compulsory Purchase Order.
Response
Thank you for your e-mail dated 13 July 2017 with attached letter regarding the M8 (Baillieston to Newhouse) Special Road scheme. Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) you have asked for the following:
Full details of the compensation sums agreed by (or on behalf of) The Scottish Ministers with all claimants affected by the above mentioned Compulsory Purchase Order.
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.
Please find below a table which details the compensation amounts that have been agreed by the Scottish Ministers and paid in full and final settlement with claimants. The table details the plot numbers, claimant and agreed compensation. Please note that where applicable, the agreed compensation sums include any agents/legal fees and VAT.
The attached table provides information as of 28 July 2017. As you will appreciate we are still in the process of agreeing compensation with various owners and occupiers, and as such compensation sums for a number of owners and occupiers are yet to be agreed in full and final settlement and therefore not held by the Scottish Government at this stage.
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.