11 paused major road schemes

The request was partially successful.

Dear Highways England Company Limited,

I note the article at the link below:

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest/...

which announces that

"Highways England has paused 11 major road schemes “indefinitely”, because of concerns that they are not value for money."

Please provide the map information and other descriptive plans you hold for each of those eleven major road schemes. Please also provide the cost:benefit, or similar, analysis for each of those road proposals. This information is likely to be contained in material that has been shared with national or local government bodies.

Yours faithfully

Dr Paul Thornton

Highways England,

This is an automated response:

 

Thank you for your email to Highways England.

 

If you’re reporting a real time issue which requires immediate attention
please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. 

 

A map of the roads for which we are responsible can be found here
[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk....
If the road you’re interested in isn’t on this map it will fall under the
jurisdiction of the local authority.  You can find details of local
authorities using the search facility on the gov.uk website
at: [2]https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council

 

If your email does relate to an issue on Highways England's network it
will be passed to the relevant team within Highways England and they will
respond to you within a maximum of 15 working days.

 

If you’ve made a request under the Freedom of Information Act we will
respond to you within a maximum of 20 working days. Your request will be
dealt with in line with government guidelines:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

 

Please be advised that emails may be monitored for training and quality
assurance purposes.

 

To help us improve our service please click [4]here to complete a short
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Kind regards

 

Highways England Customer Contact Centre.

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Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[6][Highways England request email]

 

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6. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Griffiths, Ruth,

Dear Dr Thornton

 

Thank you for your request of 3 May 2019. In your request you asked us to
provide you with the following information:

 

Please provide the map information and other descriptive plans you hold
for each of those eleven major road schemes. Please also provide the
cost:benefit, or similar, analysis for each of those road proposals. This
information is likely to be contained in material that has been shared
with national or local government bodies.

 

In order for us to consider and respond to your request appropriately, it
would be helpful if you could clarify what you mean by ‘descriptive plans’
and ‘analysis for each of those road schemes’.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Kindest Regards

 

 

Ruth

 

 

Ruth Griffiths,

Client Correspondence & Legislative Assurance Lead

Centre of Excellence

MP Programme Hub
Highways England | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW
Tel: +44 (0) 300 4704852 | Mobile: + 44 (0) 7834764653
Web: [1]https://highwaysengland.co.uk
GTN: 0300 470 4852

 

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Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[2]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[3][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

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3. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Ruth Griffiths,
Client Correspondence & Legislative Assurance Lead
Centre of Excellence
MP Programme Hub
Highways England | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW

Dear Ms Griffiths,

I refer to your email of the 30th May 2019 seeking clarification of my request for information which falls under the provisions of the EIRs.

I am not sure that there is any ambiguity or complexity in the request such that clarification is required. I fear you create the impression that while you must hold information that falls under the plain terms of my request, you are seeking to establish grounds for delaying publication or withholding the information that should by now have been provided. If there really was a need for clarification, then you have had a substantial opportunity to respond earlier.

If you are seeking clarification under the terms of EIR9(2), then I should have given a clear understanding of the interpretive difficulty you face.

For the avoidance of any doubt:
1. the term "descriptive plans" refers to information that would more precisely clarify the possible route(s) of the proposed schemes over and above the information contained in the maps.
2. the term "analysis for each of these road schemes" clearly relates back to "cost:benefit". It is a clear request for "the cost:benefit analysis for each of these road schemes." The "or similar" provides you with the opportunity to provide other economic analyses for each of these projects. This might include the justification for the “pausing” of the proposals.

If, and only if, the information you hold that falls under the terms of this request is very substantial, such that EIR 7 might otherwise reasonably be engaged, please provide just the map information and the most recent iteration of the cost:benefit analysis for each scheme without further delay.

If that approach is adopted, then, under the provisions of EIR9, I shall also require an index or description of the further information that you hold that falls under the terms of the request so that, if appropriate, I can select limits on the extent of the request.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

Dear Highways England Company Limited,

I refer to an email sent on the 30th May to Ruth Griffiths via the WhatDoTheyKnow.com website. The email is on line at the link below.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1...

I would be grateful if you would provide confirmation of receipt, by return.

I would also observe that Ms Griffith's response of the 30th May 2019 did not provide any substantiation that EIR 9 was properly engaged such that the provision of the requested information is substantially delayed beyond the maximum period permitted since the initial request.

I would also observe that even if EIR9 had been properly engaged, the further 20 days for a response permitted under the legislation is an absolute maximum, and the legislation includes the over riding obligation to provide the information as "soon as possible." There is absolutely no justification for a further 20 day delay.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Paul Thornton

Highways England,

This is an automated response:

 

Thank you for your email to Highways England.

 

If you’re reporting a real time issue which requires immediate attention
please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. 

 

A map of the roads for which we are responsible can be found here
[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk....
If the road you’re interested in isn’t on this map it will fall under the
jurisdiction of the local authority.  You can find details of local
authorities using the search facility on the gov.uk website
at: [2]https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council

 

If your email does relate to an issue on Highways England's network it
will be passed to the relevant team within Highways England and they will
respond to you within a maximum of 15 working days.

 

If you’ve made a request under the Freedom of Information Act we will
respond to you within a maximum of 20 working days. Your request will be
dealt with in line with government guidelines:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

 

Please be advised that emails may be monitored for training and quality
assurance purposes.

 

To help us improve our service please click [4]here to complete a short
survey.

 

Kind regards

 

Highways England Customer Contact Centre.

This email may contain information which is confidential and is intended
only for use of the recipient/s named above. If you are not an intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any copying, distribution,
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strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and destroy it.

 

Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[6][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

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6. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Dear Highways England Company Limited,

An acknowledgement of my email of the 4th June has not been received and a substantive response to my request is overdue. Confirmation that this matter is being progressed would be helpful.

Yours faithfully,

Paul Thornton

Highways England,

This is an automated response:

 

Thank you for your email to Highways England.

 

If you’re reporting a real time issue which requires immediate attention
please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. 

 

A map of the roads for which we are responsible can be found here
[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk....
If the road you’re interested in isn’t on this map it will fall under the
jurisdiction of the local authority.  You can find details of local
authorities using the search facility on the gov.uk website
at: [2]https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council

 

If your email does relate to an issue on Highways England's network it
will be passed to the relevant team within Highways England and they will
respond to you within a maximum of 15 working days.

 

If you’ve made a request under the Freedom of Information Act we will
respond to you within a maximum of 20 working days. Your request will be
dealt with in line with government guidelines:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

 

Please be advised that emails may be monitored for training and quality
assurance purposes.

 

To help us improve our service please click [4]here to complete a short
survey.

 

Kind regards

 

Highways England Customer Contact Centre.

This email may contain information which is confidential and is intended
only for use of the recipient/s named above. If you are not an intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any copying, distribution,
disclosure, reliance upon or other use of the contents of this email is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and destroy it.

 

Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[6][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

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6. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Highways England,

2 Attachments

Dear Dr Paul Thornton

 

Thank you for your email to the Highways England Customer Contact Centre
dated 19 June regarding obtaining an update on your Freedom of
Information request.

 

Your enquiry has been given the reference number 19098759, please quote
this in any future correspondence regarding this issue.

 

Your Freedom of Information request was referred to the relevant team on
the

4th June. Highways England aim to respond to you within a maximum of 20
working days.  Therefore please except a response by the 2^nd July.

 

Thank you once again for contacting us with your enquiry. If you have any
further questions regarding this or any other Highways England issue
please feel free to contact us via our 24 hour Customer Contact Centre on
0300 123 5000. Alternatively, please e-mail us at
[1][Highways England request email]  or access our website
[2]http://www.highways.gov.uk where information on all Highways England
policies and procedures can be found.

 

To help us identify and make improvements to our responses, I’d be very
grateful if you could please take our feedback survey by clicking [3]here.

 

Kind regards,

 

Jodie

Customer Contact Centre Advisor.

Highways England,  National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton
Business Park, Birmingham,  B32 1AF.

Tel:  0300 123 5000

 

[4]Twit

Highways England Company Limited | Registered Office: Bridge House, 1
Walnut Tree Close, Guildford GU1 4LZ | Registered in England and Wales No.
9346363

[5]cid:image003.png@01D43318.B87D0620

show quoted sections

Jodie
Customer Contact Centre Advisor.
Highways England, National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton
Business Park, Birmingham, B32 1AF

Dear Jodie,

Thank you for your email of the earlier today, your reference 19098759. The full exchange is on line here.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1...

I am struggling to reconcile the content of your email with the observation that the information request was submitted on the 3rd May 2019 and that there has been further correspondence with Ruth Griffiths of HE in respect of which substantive further responses have not been provided by HE. You appear to have provided a misdated standard proforma response as though to a new enquiry.

The response seem to be focused on the maximum possible permitted period for a response of 20 days rather than the better obligation under the regulations to respond “as soon as possible.” Even so, the earlier responses did not provide any justifiable legitimate explanation for delay, in the terms of the EIRs, such that the maximum permitted period for publication of the requested information commenced on the 3rd May and is already substantially expired. Accordingly, I would be grateful if you would clarify further by return and then ensure that the requested information is provided well before the 2nd July date that appears to be your current target.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

Highways England,

This is an automated response:

 

Thank you for your email to Highways England.

 

If you’re reporting a real time issue which requires immediate attention
please call the Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000. 

 

A map of the roads for which we are responsible can be found here
[1]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk....
If the road you’re interested in isn’t on this map it will fall under the
jurisdiction of the local authority.  You can find details of local
authorities using the search facility on the gov.uk website
at: [2]https://www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council

 

If your email does relate to an issue on Highways England's network it
will be passed to the relevant team within Highways England and they will
respond to you within a maximum of 15 working days.

 

If you’ve made a request under the Freedom of Information Act we will
respond to you within a maximum of 20 working days. Your request will be
dealt with in line with government guidelines:
[3]https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-inf...

 

Please be advised that emails may be monitored for training and quality
assurance purposes.

 

To help us improve our service please click [4]here to complete a short
survey.

 

Kind regards

 

Highways England Customer Contact Centre.

This email may contain information which is confidential and is intended
only for use of the recipient/s named above. If you are not an intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any copying, distribution,
disclosure, reliance upon or other use of the contents of this email is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and destroy it.

 

Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[5]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[6][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

Consider the environment. Please don't print this e-mail unless you really
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References

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6. mailto:[Highways England request email]

Ruth Griffiths,
Client Correspondence & Legislative Assurance Lead
Centre of Excellence
MP Programme Hub
Highways England | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW

Dear Ms Griffiths,

Having only received automated responses following our earlier exchange, I sent a request for progress back to the Highways England default email address for FOI requests. I received a response from your colleague, Jodie, a Customer Contact Centre Advisor in the National Traffic Operations Centre in Birmingham but again these are only of automated or standardised proforma type.

I have been given the reference 19098759. The full exchange is on line here:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/1...

I am seeking to avoid burdening the office of the Information Commissioner in this matter not least as it would cause further and wholly avoidable delay. However, we are now past even the expected response date set out in the erroneous standardised letter provided by Jodie. I am willing to wait only a further three working days for a substantive response.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Paul Thornton

Goddard, Jenny,

2 Attachments

Dear Dr Paul Thornton

 

Request for information 770389

 

Thank you for your request for information dated 3 May 2019 and for your
subsequent clarification received on 30 May 2019.

Your question is in line with an Environmental Information Regulations
(EIR) request and we’ve considered our response in accordance with the
requirements for these. Please find attached our response to your query
(also attached).

If you are unhappy with the way we have handled your request you may ask
for an internal review within 40 days for Environmental Information
Regulations requests. Our internal review process is available at:
[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...

If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, you have
the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a
decision. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

 

            Information Commissioner’s Office

            Wycliffe House

            Water Lane

            Wilmslow

            Cheshire

            SK9 5AF

 

If you have any queries, please contact myself or Ruth Griffiths, quoting
reference number 770389 in any future communications.

 

Kindest regards

 

Jenny Goddard

MP Centre Of Excellence

MP Programme Hub
Highways England | Woodlands | Manton Lane | Bedford | MK41 7LW
Web: [2]www.highwaysengland.co.uk

 

Sent on behalf of Ruth Griffiths

 

 

This email may contain information which is confidential and is intended
only for use of the recipient/s named above. If you are not an intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any copying, distribution,
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strictly prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please
notify the sender and destroy it.

 

Highways England Company Limited | General enquiries: 0300 123 5000
|National Traffic Operations Centre, 3 Ridgeway, Quinton Business Park,
Birmingham B32 1AF |
[3]https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati... |
[4][Highways England request email]

 

Registered in England and Wales no 9346363 | Registered Office: Bridge
House, 1 Walnut Tree Close, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4LZ 

 

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4. mailto:[Highways England request email]