Info related to Climate Change Access for Local Authorities/Boards

Summary

The requester asked for documentation regarding Climate Change Funding access for local authorities and statutory boards between April 2024 and February 2025. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed that no such records exist for local authorities, provided a public link for statutory boards, and confirmed no process changes occurred since January 2024.

Key Facts

• No documentation or communication exists regarding Climate Change Fund access for local authorities in the specified period.
• Information for statutory boards is publicly available via a provided URL rather than held as specific internal records.
• The process for accessing the Climate Change Fund and the Business Case Template has not changed since 16 January 2024.
• The request was received on 30 January 2025 and responded to on 21 February 2025.
• The authority cited Section 20 of the Act to refuse providing information already reasonably accessible to the public.

Data Disclosed

• 30 January 2025
• 21 February 2025
• 1st April 2024
• 16 January 2024
• 4408690
• Section 20
• https://netzero.im/media/x2fmj2wk/external-business-case-processv2.pdf

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information already reasonably accessible)

Original Request

Please provide any and all documentation and/or communication (both internal and external) relating to the access to Climate Change Funding for local authorities and/or statutory boards. This should include any reference to altering forms and processes. Please provide this for the time period 1st April 2024 to date

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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: 4408690 21 February 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 30 January 2025, which states:

"Please provide any and all documentation and/or communication (both internal and external) relating to the access to Climate Change Funding for local authorities and/or statutory boards. This should include any reference to altering forms and processes.

Please provide this for the time period 1st April 2024 to date"

For ease the Department has numbered your request into questions, as below:

Question one Please provide any and all documentation and/or communication (both internal and external) relating to the access to Climate Change Funding for local authorities.

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 some of the information that you have requested. This is because there is no documentation or communication on access to the Climate Change Fund for local authorities in the time period specified.

Question two Please provide any and all documentation and/or communication (both internal and external) relating to the access to Climate Change Funding for statutory boards.

Section 20
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.
Information regarding access to the Climate Change Fund and the Business Case Template are publicly available and can be found here:

https://netzero.im/media/x2fmj2wk/external-business-case-processv2.pdf

Question three Please provide any and all documentation and/or communication (both internal and external) relating to any reference to altering forms and processes.

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 some of the information that you have requested. This is because neither the process for accessing the Climate Change Fund nor the Business Case Template have changed since they were uploaded on 16 January 2024.

Please quote the reference number 4408690 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