Earthscope

Summary

The request sought financial details, due diligence, and tender information regarding payments to Earthscope for carbon literacy training. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed the monthly payment amount but withheld other details, citing that the request should be directed to other public authorities for information outside their scope.

Key Facts

• Earthscope receives £1,456.73 per month from the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture for carbon literacy training.
• The response indicates that information regarding payments from the Treasury or other departments must be requested separately.
• A tender scoring matrix was included showing Earthscope achieved a total score of 100% against a competitor's 92%.
• The contract value referenced in the tender documentation was £17,588.76.
• The request was received on 2024-08-27 and the outcome was issued on 2024-09-17.

Data Disclosed

• £1,456.73
• £17,588.76
• £18,000.00
• 2024-08-27
• 2024-09-17
• 100%
• 92%
• 250
• 240
• 215

Original Request

Please provide data on: 1) how much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for carbon literacy training (you can take this request to include DEFA and Treasury) 2) how much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for any other training (please state the amounts paid to Earthscope per training course provided by them) 2a) how much money will be paid to Earthscope for future training 3) due diligence on Earthscope including their qualifications in their subject matter and any teaching or coaching qualifications held by the staff and owners of Earthscope 4) details of the tender process for awarding training to Earthscope and why they were awarded the tender 5) any disclosures about Earthscope's links to anyone in Tynwald Please provide all notes, emails, memos and phone transcripts regarding awarding Earthscope contracts or tender(s) and all due diligence undertaken.

Data Tables (2)

Full Response Text

Tender/Quick Quote Project Name and Reference Number Criteria for awarding score Score Completely fails to meet required standard or does not provide a proposal. 0 Proposal significantly fails to meet the standards required, contains significant shortcomings and/or is inconsistent with other proposals. 1 Proposal falls short of achieving expected standard in a number of identifiable respects. 2 Proposal meets the required standard in most material respects, but is lacking or inconsistent in others. 3 Proposal meets the required standard in all material respects. 4 Proposal meets the required standard in all material respects and exceeds some or all of the major requirements. 5 Tender Specific - Value Max Score Value (£) Total % Value (£) Total % Value (£) Total % Value (£) Total % Contract Value from Form of Tender £17,588.76 £18,000.00 Lowest value submission is awarded 50%, remaining submissions are expressed as a % of the lowest bid = ((value of lowest bid/value of other bid)50) 30% 30 29 0 0 Tender Specific - Quality Criteria Weighting Max Weighted Score score weighted total score weighted total score weighted total score weighted total 1 Describe your experience in delivering climate change training 15 75 5 75 5 75 0 0 2 Demonstrate experience and success in facilitation and/or running events to engage with stakeholders 15 75 5 75 4 60 0 0 3 Provide copies of your certification for your carbon literacy training 10 50 4 40 4 40 0 0 5 The Isle of Man Government is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 http://www.gov.im/climatechange and is committed to the reduction of single use plastic https://www.gov.im/about-the- government/departments/environment-food-and-agriculture/ecosystem-policy-and-energy/plastics/ In no more than 400 words, please identify how your Tender Response supports this commitment and provide details of your organisation’s wider policies on environmental and sustainability issues. 10 50 5 50 4 40 0 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 Total 250 240 215 0 0 Highest quality score is awarded 50%, remaining scores are expressed as a % of the highest score = ((score of other bid/highest score)50) 70% 70 62.70833333 0 0 Total % 100% 100 92 0 0 Award Matrix based on a split of 50% value and 50% quality (10% of which is attributed to Local Economic Factors) Award Criteria Tenderer 3 Tenderer 4 Tenderer 1 Tenderer 2

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 4082318 17 September 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 27 August 2024, which states:

"Please provide data on:

1) How much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for carbon literacy training (you can take this request to include DEFA and Treasury)

2) How much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for any other training (please state the amounts paid to Earthscope per training course provided by them)

2a) How much money will be paid to Earthscope for future training

3) Due diligence on Earthscope including their qualifications in their subject matter and any teaching or coaching qualifications held by the staff and owners of Earthscope

4) Details of the tender process for awarding training to Earthscope and why they were awarded the tender

5) Any disclosures about Earthscope's links to anyone in Tynwald

6) Please provide all notes, emails, memos and phone transcripts regarding awarding Earthscope contracts or tender(s) and all due diligence undertaken."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have detailed below the information being released to you.

1) How much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for carbon literacy training (you can take this request to include DEFA and Treasury)

Earthscope are paid £1,456.73 per month by the Department of Environment Food and Agriculture (the Department) for carbon literacy training.

To offer advice and assistance, your Freedom of Information request will provide you with information held by the Department. You may wish to submit further Freedom of Information requests to other Public Authorities who may be able to help with providing any payments made for any other training.

A list of all Public Authorities can be found in Schedule One of the Freedom of Information Act. The FOI Act can be found here:
https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2015/2015- 0008/2015-0008_16.pdf

2) How much Earthscope are being paid by the Isle of Man Government for any other training (please state the amounts paid to Earthscope per training course provided by them)

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested. This is because Earthscope are not providing the Department with any other training.

To offer advice and assistance, your Freedom of Information request will provide you with information held by the Department. You may wish to submit further Freedom of Information requests to other Public Authorities who may be able to help with providing any payments made for any other training.

A list of all Public Authorities can be found in Schedule One of the Freedom of Information Act. The FOI Act can be found here:
https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2015/2015- 0008/2015-0008_16.pdf

2a) How much money will be paid to Earthscope for future training

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested.

To offer advice and assistance, the current contract with Earthscope ends in September and therefore any future training is currently unknown.

3) Due diligence on Earthscope including their qualifications in their subject matter and any teaching or coaching qualifications held by the staff and owners of Earthscope

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee.

The information that you have requested regarding the procurement process and electronic tendering can be found on page 146-157 of the Isle of Man Government Financial Regulations here:
https://www.gov.im/media/1379854/financial-regulations-june-2023- 200623_compressed.pdf

To offer advice and assistance, the following quality criteria was assessed during the Quick Quote process where tenderers were asked to:

1. Describe your experience in delivering climate change training;
2. Demonstrate experience and success in facilitation and/or running events to engage with stakeholders;
3. Provide copies of your certification for your carbon literacy training – note copies of certificates for both trainers were received in an appendix along with 3 testimonials; and
4. The Isle of Man Government is committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and is committed to the reduction of single use plastic. In no more than 400 words, please identify how your Tender Response supports these commitments and provide details of your organisation’s wider policies on environmental and sustainability issues.

Each question was score evaluated as part of the tender process.

4) Details of the tender process for awarding training to Earthscope and why they were awarded the tender

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee.

Some of the information that you have requested regarding the tender process which follows the financial regulations can be found here: https://www.gov.im/procurement

To offer advice and assistance, the Earthscope tender submission was reviewed and scored independently by three officers. The Earthscope tender scored highest by all three officers.

5) Any disclosures about Earthscope's links to anyone in Tynwald

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested. This is because there were no disclosures made by Earthscope.

6) Please provide all notes, emails, memos and phone transcripts regarding awarding Earthscope contracts or tender(s) and all due diligence undertaken."

Please see Appendix One and Appendix Two.

Please quote the reference number 4082318 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.

Yours sincerely