Peter Parr
Information Rights Unit
Department for Transport
Room D/04, Ashdown House
Sedlescombe Road North
St Leonards on Sea
East Sussex, TN37 7GA
Nicola Humphries
Case Officer
e-mail: FOI-Advice-Team-DFT
Information Commissioner's Office
@dft.gsi.gov.uk
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
4 February 2011
Wilmslow
Cheshire SK9 5AR
Dear Ms Humphries
Re: Information Request – E0006237
Your Case Reference Number: FER03196898
I refer to your letter of 24 January 2011.
We
can confirm that a copy of the software codes and inputs for the aviation forecasting
models referred to in Mr Todd’s information request has now been provided to him
together with the key outputs from other transport models which are required as inputs to
the aviation forecasting models in accordance with our letter to Mr Todd of 14 January.
Regarding the other software and data referred to in our response of 14 January (the
“User surface access model”), which we were seeking to withhold relying on the
exceptions in Regulation 12(5) (c) and Regulation 12(5) (e) of the EIR, the DfT policy
official handling the request has now had an opportunity to discuss this with the
Department’s Information Team and lawyers. Our advice is that this is not in fact
information held by the Department for the purposes of the EIR and it was a mistake to
seek to apply any exceptions. This is because the information is not (nor has it ever been)
in the Department’s possession and it has not been produced or received by the
Department. The information is not held by another person on behalf of the Department
either. Therefore it does not fall within Regulation 3(2) EIR.
In fact the User surface access model is made up of primary software that is the
intellectual property right (IPR) of WS Aktins plc, and secondary interface software and
transport model networks which are the IPR of URS - Scott Wilson. Neither package
belongs to the Department, and the Department has no rights over them. They were not
developed solely for the benefit of the Department. The primary software is old Wootten
Jeffreys software which WS Atkins plc acquired when it took over Wootten Jeffreys in
1994. The secondary interface software and transport model networks were developed c.
1998-1999 by Scott Wilson. Both the primary and secondary software were developed for
general commercial use for a range of clients, not just the DfT. Indeed the DfT only had a
contract for the construction of its suite of aviation forecasting models in place in 2000.
Mr Todd would be able to enter into a contractual arrangement to purchase the software
owned by WS Atkins plc and the additional files that interact with that software package
from WS Atkins and Scott Wilson Ltd. If Mr Todd is interested in purchasing the elements
that make up the User surface access model then I would advise him to contact WS Atkins
and Scott Wilson Ltd directly. WS Atkins can be contacted via email:
[email address] and by phone: +44 (0)1905 338247. Scott Wilson Ltd can be
contacted via email at [email address].
For the reasons given above, we are of the view that the Department has already provided
Mr Todd with all the information that it holds for the purposes of EIR which falls within the
scope of his request. I have therefore not addressed the numbered questions (1-8) in your
letter of 24 January. However if you have any questions which you would still like us to
address please let me know.
I apologise for the confusion that our earlier response has given rise to.
As requested, I am sending a copy of this letter to Mr Todd.
Yours sincerely
Peter Parr
Information Rights Unit
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