Transport Scotland publication scheme

The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides individuals with a right to request any recorded information held by Scotland's public authorities. Anyone can use this right, and information can only be withheld where FOISA expressly permits it.

Section 23 of FOISA also requires that all Scottish public authorities maintain a publication scheme. A publication scheme sets out the types of information that a public authority routinely makes available.

We've adopted the Model Publication Scheme developed and approved by the Scottish Information Commissioner. The Commissioner is responsible for enforcing FOISA.

The Commissioner's Model Publication Scheme is designed to ensure that authorities meet their obligation to take account of the public interest in providing access to the information that they hold which relates to:

  • the services they provide
  • the costs of those services
  • the standard of those services
  • the facts that inform the important decisions they take
  • the reasoning that informs their decisions

We've adopted the Model Publication Scheme without amendment and have made the commitment to publish all information we hold which falls within the classes in the scheme. The information we publish is, where possible, available on this website.

Availability and formats

The information we publish through the model scheme is, wherever possible, available on this site.

We offer alternative arrangements for people who do not want to, or cannot, access the information online or by inspection at our premises.

For example, we can usually arrange to post information in paper copy (although there may be a charge for this).

Information that we may withhold

Our aim is to be as open as possible. However, there may be circumstances where information will be withheld from publication.

Information will only be withheld, where FOISA (or, in the case of environmental information, the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004) expressly permits it.

Information may be withheld, for example, where its disclosure would breach the law of confidentiality, harm commercial interests, or endanger the protection of the environment. Information may also be withheld if it is another person's personal information, and its release would breach data protection legislation.

Where we withhold information we will remove it or redact it before publication and explain why.

If you wish to complain about any information which has been withheld from you, please contact us.

Our charging policy

Unless otherwise stated, all information contained within our scheme is available from us free of charge where it can be downloaded from our website or where it can be sent to you by email.

We reserve the right to impose charges for providing information in paper copy or on CD. Charges will reflect the actual costs to the Scottish Government for reproduction and postage.

We'll let you know the charge and how it has been calculated. Information will not be provided to you until payment has been received.

Where charges are applied, photocopied information will be charged at a standard rate of 10p per A4 side of paper (black and white copy) and 30p per A4 side of paper (colour copy). We will pass on postage charges at the cost of sending the information by first class post.

We are required by the Equality Act 2010 to make take steps to meet the needs of people who share a relevant protected characteristic. In terms of access to information, this means making reasonable adjustments to our practices to ensure that information is physically accessible. This may, for example, involve producing information in a larger script or different format where it is practicable to do so. The costs of this will be met by us.

Our copyright policy

The information we produce is subject to Crown copyright, which is administered by the Queen's Printer for Scotland. The material listed in this publication scheme is Crown copyright unless stated otherwise.

You may use and re-use Crown copyright information free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms and conditions of the Open Government Licence, provided it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context.

Where any of the Crown copyright items published through this guide are being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged.

Our records management and disposal policy

We participate in the Scottish Government’s records management process. It has in place Record Retention and Disposition Schedules for all documents that it creates and holds. These Schedules explain how long all types of records must be held for. This means that while FOISA is retrospective, it's only possible to provide copies of records that still exist. The current policy and procedures for records management are in the Scottish Government’s Record Management Manual.

Some Scottish Government/Transport Scotland records are selected to be permanently preserved at the National Records of Scotland. The Schedules referred to above say what types of records will normally be preserved. Once transferred to the National Records of Scotland, these records are made publicly available and listed on their on-line catalogue.

How to access information which we do not publish

If you would like to request information which we do not publish then please contact us by:

Freedom of Information
Transport Scotland
Buchanan House
58 Port Dundas Road
Glasgow G4 0HF

When writing to us to request information, please include:

  • your full name and an email or postal address
  • full details of the information or documents you would like to receive.

Charges for information available only through request

Non-environmental information

The Scottish Government does not charge anyone for making requests for, nor for providing, information under FOISA, but we will refuse to deal with a request where we estimate that it will cost more than £600 to locate, retrieve and provide the information.

Environmental information

The Scottish Government does not charge anyone for making requests for, nor for providing, environmental information under the EIRs, up to a limit of £600. Thereafter we may charge the full cost of providing the information.

In the event that we decide to charge for the full cost of a request under the EIRs costing over £600, we will issue you with notification of the charge and how it has been calculated. If you decide not to proceed with the request there will be no charge to you.

Charges are calculated on the basis of the actual cost to the authority of locating, retrieving and providing the environmental information.

Photocopying is charged at 10p per A4 sheet for black and white copying, 30p per A4 sheet for colour copying.

Postage is charged at actual rate for first class mail.

Staff time is calculated at actual cost per staff member hourly salary rate to a maximum of £15 per person per hour.

The classes of information that we publish

We publish information that we hold within the classes set out in the publication scheme.

Class 1: About Transport Scotland

This class includes information about Transport Scotland - who we are, where to find us, how to contact us, how we are managed, and our external relations.

Class 2: How we deliver functions and services

This class includes information about our work, our strategy and policies for delivering functions and services, and information for our service users.

Class 3: How we take decisions

Information about the decisions we take, how we make decisions and how we involve others.

Class 4: What we spend

Information about our strategy for, and management of, financial resources in sufficient detail to explain how we plan to spend public money and what has actually been spent.

Class 5: How we manage our human, physical and information resources

Information about how we manage the human, physical and information resources of the authority.

Class 6: How we procure goods and services from external providers

Information about how we procure goods and services, and our contracts with external providers

Class 7: How we are performing

Information about how we perform as an organisation, and how well it delivers its functions and services.

Class 8: Our commercial publications

Information packaged and made available for sale on a commercial basis and sold at market value through a retail outlet (e.g. bookshop, museum or research journal).

Note for information: The Agency currently has no commercial publications. Charges may arise for information as explained in the charging policy in the introduction to this guide.

Class 9: Our Open Data

Open data made available by the authority as described by the Scottish Government’s Open Data Strategy and Resource Pack, available under an open licence.

We comply with the guidance above when publishing data and other information to our website. Details of publications and statistics can be found in the body of this document or on the Publications section of our website.

Scottish Information Commissioner

You have legal rights to access information under this scheme and a right of appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner if you are dissatisfied with our response. These rights apply only to information requests made in writing (verbal requests for environmental information carry similar rights) or another recordable format. If you are unhappy with our responses to your request you can ask us to review it internally and if you are still unhappy, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner.

By post:

Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife KY16 9DS

Telephone - 01334 464610

Email - enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info

Data Protection Act

You can request a copy of any personal data we hold about you by making a subject access request (SAR) under the General Data Protection Regulation, by:

Email - dpa@transport.gov.scot

Or by post:

Data Protection Team
Transport Scotland
Buchanan House
58 Port Dundas Road
Glasgow G4 0HF

You should also provide proof of identity - acceptable forms of ID include:

  • copy or scan of the photograph page of your passport or
  • copy or scan of your photocard driving licence or
  • copy or scan of at least two utility bills/bank statements from the last six months detailing your name and current address

We will acknowledge your request in writing and provide you with a reference number for your application. Once we are satisfied that you meet the criteria for disclosure of data under data protection law, and you have provided sufficient information, you should receive a response within one calendar month from the date that we accept your application for processing.

Last updated

This page was last updated in October 2019.