Energy Policy Board

Summary

The requester asked for details on staffing positions, hours, grades, and budgets for the Energy Policy Board Secretariat and external experts. The Cabinet Office responded that the specific information was not held, though they provided context that secretariat duties are part of existing roles and a £500,000 funding request is pending Treasury approval.

Key Facts

• The Cabinet Office does not hold the specific information requested regarding position counts, grades, or allocated budgets.
• Secretariat functions for the Energy Policy Board will be undertaken by existing Cabinet Office officers as part of their current duties.
• The Council of Ministers agreed to request £500,000 per annum from the Treasury to cover resourcing over three years.
• The requested funding has not yet been considered or allocated by the Treasury.
• Discussions are ongoing regarding the potential secondment of part-time officers from other Departments.

Data Disclosed

• 3492209
• 2023-10-30
• 2023-11-27
• £500,000
• three year period

Original Request

Please confirm how many positions in Cabinet Office will be required as Secretariat to the Board and the Energy Team of specialist officers, how many hours estimated monthly, at what grade are the positions and the budget allocated. Please also provide details of the budget allocated for any external expert resources.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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

Our ref: 3492209 27 November 2023

Dear ###

We write further to your request received 30 October 2023, which states:

"Please confirm how many positions in Cabinet Office will be required as Secretariat to the Board and the Energy Team of specialist officers, how many hours estimated monthly, at what grade are the positions and the budget allocated.

Please also provide details of the budget allocated for any external expert resources."

Section 8(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the Act) provides the right to Isle of Man residents to obtain access to recorded information held by a public authority.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Cabinet Office does not hold the information that you have requested.

However, to provide advice and assistance, as required by the Act we can advise the following:

• The secretariat function for the Energy Policy Board will be undertaken by officers from Cabinet Office as part of existing duties.

• Council of Ministers has agreed to support a request to Treasury for £500,000 per annum to cover resourcing over a three year period, however this has not as yet been considered and allocated by Treasury.

• Discussions are ongoing regarding requirements from officers in other Departments, who may be seconded on a part-time basis to support the work of the Board.

Please quote the reference number 3492209 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.