Climate Change Funding

Summary

The request sought a breakdown of initial £10m climate funding, costs for the Climate Change Transformation Team, staff details, and plans for an additional £42m expenditure. The Cabinet Office disclosed detailed spending on the initial fund and team costs, provided staff grades, but stated it did not hold the specific breakdown for the additional £42m, though it outlined the fund allocations.

Key Facts

• The initial £10m climate funding was split between the Environmental Protection Fund (£5m) and Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives (£5m).
• Total costs for the Climate Change Transformation Team were £262,874.56 for 2020/21 and £483,888 for 2021/22.
• The team currently employs 8 staff members ranging from Executive Director to Project Officer.
• The Cabinet Office does not hold a detailed breakdown of how the additional £42m approved by Tynwald will be spent.
• The £42m additional expenditure is allocated across four funds including a new £25m Climate Change Fund and £9m for coastal erosion.

Data Disclosed

• £10m
• £42m
• £5m
• £352,892
• £180,294.02
• £31,255.40
• £262,874.56
• £483,888
• £25m
• £9m
• 2020/21
• 2021/22
• 2022-03-04
• 2022-03-31
• 2022-02-15
• 2050

Original Request

1. A detailed breakdown of what the initial £10m of funding for climate change has been spent on. 2. A detailed breakdown of all costs associated with the Climate Change Transformation Team to date. 3. The numbers and grades of staff presently employed in the Climate Change Transformation Team. 2. A detailed breakdown of what the additional expenditure of £42m on climate change approved by Tynwald will be spent on.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 2308729 31 March 2022

Dear ###,

We write further to your request which was received on 4 March 2022 and which states:

"1. A detailed breakdown of what the initial £10m of funding for climate change has been spent on. 2. A detailed breakdown of all costs associated with the Climate Change Transformation Team to date. 3. The numbers and grades of staff presently employed in the Climate Change Transformation Team. 2. A detailed breakdown of what the additional expenditure of £42m on climate change approved by Tynwald will be spent on." Our response to your request is as follows: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Cabinet Office does not hold some of the information that you have requested. I have detailed below the information that is held. "1. A detailed breakdown of what the initial £10m of funding for climate change has been spent on. 1. Environmental Protection Fund - £5m allocated in 2020/21 financial year Cabinet Office - The Climate Change Team formed in October 2020 with no revenue budget in place, Cabinet Office submitted a bid to the Climate Change fund to cover the costs of salaries/office equipment/communications/general operational items from Oct 2020 to end of March 2021. The final amount drawn down in March 2021 was £352,892 to cover the following costs: • Basic Pay – Civil Service £180,294.02 • Basic Pay – Individual Contract £31,255.40 • ERNI – Civil Service £20,393.75 • ERNI – Individual Contract £3,694.52 • Superannuation – Civil Service £27,236.87

• Expenses - £35.15 • Hire Charges – General £120.00 • Printing – General £584.27 • Office Expenses – General £5,828.00 • Public Relations – Miscellaneous £72,762.00 • Advertising Publicity Marketing – General £12,284.80 • Communications – Telephones £144.00 • Computing – Software £67.60 • Miscellaneous income -£1,807.94 DEFA – Bid for £313,877 approved on 28 July 2021 re Blue Carbon Project. This is split across a number of years with only £163,877 being available for 2021/2.This amount will only be transferred to DEFA at the end of the financial year when the department’s financial position is known and so may not be considered as spent at the moment.

Funds committed but not yet spent:  Future Energy Scenarios - £54,000  Heating Decarbonisation Strategy - £68,600  Peatland Restoration Project - £372,129  Land Use Land Use Change Farming - £55,000  Blue Carbon Project - £200,000  Biofuels Feasibility Study - £62,000 2. Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives - £5m allocated in 2020/21 No amounts were expended from this capital budget line during 2020/21 2. A detailed breakdown of all costs associated with the Climate Change Transformation Team to date. Team costs from April 2020 to March 2021: Basic Pay – Civil Service £180,294.02 Basic Pay – Individual Contract £31,255.40 ERNI – Civil Service £20,393.75 ERNI – Individual contract £3,694.52 Superannuation – Civil Service £27,236.87 Total cost: £262,874.56 Team costs from April 2021 to March 2022: Basic Pay – Civil Service £372,305 ERNI – Civil Service £40,888 Superannuation – Civil Service £55,228 Agency Staff – Admin £17,625 Total cost: £483,888

1. The numbers and grades of staff presently employed in the Climate Change Transformation Team. Executive Director, JESP 9-13 Head of Programme Delivery, SEO Programme Office Manager, HEO Change & Engagement Manager, HEO Policy Manager, HEO Project Officer, EO Project Officer, EO Project Officer, EO
2. A detailed breakdown of what the additional expenditure of £42m on climate change approved by Tynwald will be spent on." This information is not held. To provide advice and assistance, the 2022 Budget was approved in Tynwald on Tuesday 15th February 2022. This included additional expenditure of £42m on climate change which will support the mitigating effects of climate change and helping the Island reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The money was allocated to the following funds (information extracted from the pink book): Environmental protection fund (a Treasury Fund) – extra £3m (this received £5m for the last two years, which is all committed – with £7.2m allocated to Green Living Grants Scheme) – this will fund strategy development, Tree Planting, Blue Carbon Projects and Peat restoration initiatives. All spends will be added to the NetZero website. New Climate Change Fund (a Treasury Fund) - £25m – the pink book says “to support climate change initiatives” Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives (a Treasury Fund) – extra £5m, as per previous two years – now at £15m and we not managed to draw any funds – this is intended to upgrade Capital projects to reduce their carbon footprint. Climate Change Adaptation Fund (a DOI capital budget for coastal Erosion, flooding and Sea Defences investment) – extra £9m - DOI have a programme of works informed by the JBA Flooding Strategy. A total budget allocation of £42m, of which £9m is under DOI control for flood management and the other £33m is under Treasury control. The funds will allow for bids submitted by Departments that enable the development of climate change initiatives and also support the schemes relating to flood management and climate change adaptation, in line with the priorities set through the imminent Climate Change Plan.

Please quote the reference number 2308729 in any future communications.

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I will now close your request as of this date.