Agri-Environmental Budget

Summary

The requester asked for Agri-Environment Annual Payment Reports for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 to investigate rumors of budget reallocation to a meat plant. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture withheld the reports under Section 41 as they are held for future publication, but confirmed the budget was not reallocated.

Key Facts

• The Agri-Environmental Scheme budget has not been reallocated to Isle of Man Meats.
• The requested payment reports for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 are exempt from disclosure.
• The exemption is based on Section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (information for future publication).
• The Department anticipates the information will be publicly available by the end of the current financial year.
• The public interest test determined that withholding the data to ensure accuracy and validation outweighs the interest in immediate disclosure.

Data Disclosed

• 2021-2022
• 2022-2023
• 2023-2024
• 2024-2025
• 26 November 2025
• 23 December 2025
• 5122661
• Section 41

Exemptions Cited

• Section 41 – Information for future publication

Original Request

Dear Sirs,

My sister-in-law telephoned me last night to say that the budget for the Agri-Environmental Scheme has been transferred to the meat plant which needs another bail out. This is incredibly unfair as she will now miss out on payments herself.

I see on your website (https://www.gov.im/categories/business-and-industries/agriculture/agri-environment-initiatives-grant-scheme/) that you have posted the Agri-Environment Annual Payment Reports for 2021-2022 & 2022-2023.

Please can I have access to your Agri-Environment Annual Payment Reports for 2023-2024 & 2024-2025. I want to see where all the money has gone.

Thank you,