Nobel House
Area 1E
17 Smith Square
T: 03459 33 55 77
London
xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
SW1P 3JR
www.gov.uk/defra
Peter Silverman
Our ref: FOI2020/20781
By ema
il:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx 9 September 2020
Dear Peter Silverman,
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: Roadside Litter Thank you for your request for information of 12th August about roadside litter on trunk roads
managed by Highways England. We have handled your request under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004 (EIRs)
The EIRs apply to requests for environmental information, which is a broad category of
information defined in regulation 2 of the EIRs. Public authorities are required to handle
requests for environmental information under the EIRs. They give similar access rights to
the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
You requested that we provide you with
1. an electronic copy or a link to the results of the survey described by Rebecca Pow
as an "independent survey of roadside litter on those parts of the Strategic Road
Network (SRN) where Highways England is responsible for maintenance but the
local authority is responsible for clearing litter".
2. copies of the communications to each relevant local authority sharing the results of
the survey with them.
We enclose a copy of the raw data from a 2018 pilot survey provided by Keep Britain Tidy.
This data accurately shows the grades of each surveyed transect on the dates given. We
are aware that a small proportion of these transects were surveyed in error and do not lie
on the SRN. It is important to note therefore that this dataset should not be seen as an
accurate representation of the grading across the whole SRN, or indeed of those parts
where Highways England is responsible for maintenance but the local authority is
responsible for clearing litter. We are in the process of identifying these errors.
Since we received this data, our understanding of which body is responsible for clearing
litter at specific transects has also changed. We are still in the process of clarifying this
responsibility, and as such this part of the survey is still
material in the course of completion.
Therefore, column E (“Authority”) has been redacted under the exception in regulation
12(4)(d) of the EIRs.
This work has been delayed due to a reallocation of resources to respond to covid-19,
however work is now ongoing and we estimate publishing the findings of the pilot survey in
2021.
After careful consideration we have also decided that the column J “Initial” should be
withheld under regulations 12(3) and 13(1) and (2A) of the EIRs as the information
constitutes personal data relating to persons other than you. These regulations exempt
personal information from disclosure if that information relates to someone other than the
applicant, and if disclosure of that information would breach any of the data protection
principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
We consider that disclosure of this information is likely to breach the first data protection
principle, which provides that personal data must be processed lawfully, fairly, and in a
transparent manner. Disclosure would not constitute 'fair' processing of the personal data
because the surveyors involved would not reasonably expect their initials to be disclosed in
relation to this request for information.
As a result of the ongoing work outlined above regarding clarifying responsibility for litter
clearance, the results contained in the letters sent to local authorities may also need to be
revised. The “
communications to each relevant local authority sharing the results of the
survey with them” you have requested are therefore being withheld as we consider these to
be
material still in the course of completion which thus fall under the exception in regulation
12(4)(d) of the EIRs.
In applying these exceptions, we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the
information against the public interest in disclosure.
We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosure of information concerning local
authority performance in meeting their statutory duty under EPA 1990 s.89 to keep land and
highways clear of litter and refuse, in order for those bodies to be held to account for that
performance.
However, on the other hand there is a stronger public interest in withholding the information.
Assigning responsibility for a transect to a local authority in error may be misleading for the
public and other local authorities. Disclosing material would harm the safe space and would
negatively impact upon the integrity of the decision-making process. Additionally the
disclosure of discussions would inhibit free and frank discussions in the future, and that loss
of frankness and candour would damage the quality of future decision making.
We have also told local authorities that we will not publish the results of this survey by
authority until we understand how a higher standard of cleaning can be consistently obtained
by all. As we are still actively exploring this work, releasing the results at this time could
negatively affect the willingness of local authorities to work with us going forward.
Therefore, we have concluded that the letters to local authorities, and columns E and J of
the raw data, should be withheld.
Information disclosed in response to this EIR is releasable to the public. In keeping with the
spirit and effect of the EIRs and the government’s Transparency Agenda, this letter and the
information disclosed to you may be placed on
GOV.UK, together with any related
information that will provide a key to its wider context. No information identifying you will be
placed on the GOV.UK website.
We attach Annex A, explaining the copyright that applies to the information being released
to you, and Annex B giving contact details should you be unhappy with the service you have
received.
If you have any queries about this letter please contact me.
Yours sincerely
Guy Mawhinney
Information Rights Team
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx
Annex A
Copyright
The information supplied to you continues to be protected by copyright. You are free to use
it for your own purposes, including for private study and non-commercial research, and for
any other purpose authorised by an exception in current copyright law. Documents (except
photographs or logos) can be also used in the UK without requiring permission for the
purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would
require the permission of the copyright holder.
Most documents produced by Defra will be protected by Crown Copyright. Most Crown
copyright information can be re-used under the
Open Government Licence. For information
about the OGL and about re-using Crown Copyright information please see
The National
Archives website. Copyright in other documents may rest with a third party. For information about obtaining
permission from a third party see the
Intellectual Property Office’s website. _________________________________________
Annex B
Complaints
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request you may
make a complaint or appeal against our decision under section 17(7) of the FOIA or under
regulation 11 of the EIRs, as applicable, within 40 working days of the date of this letter.
Please write to Andrew Mobsby, Head of Information Rights via email at
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx and he will arrange for an internal review of your
case. Details of Defra’s complaints procedure are on our website.
If you are not content with the outcome of the internal review, section 50 of the FOIA and
regulation 18 of the EIRs gives you the right to apply directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a decision. Please note that generally the ICO cannot
make a decision unless you have first exhausted Defra’s own complaints procedure.
The ICO’s offices are currently closed so please visit their website on how to contact them
during this period, here:
https://ico.org.uk