Highways England

The complainant has requested information from Highways England (HE) about the costs associated with damage from a road traffic incident in 2016 and audits, inspections and examinations of the damaged highway structure and matters pertaining to its replacement. HE refused to provide the requested information, citing section 14(1) – that the request was vexatious. HE later accepted the Commissioner’s view that the information was environmental and that regulation 12(4)(b) – manifestly unreasonable was the appropriate exception to cite. The Commissioner’s decision is that Regulation 12(4)(b) is not engaged. The Commissioner requires the public authority to take the following steps to ensure compliance with the legislation. Issue a fresh response to the request that does not rely on regulation 12(4)(b) of the EIR.