MNH Biodiversity Fund

Summary

A request was made for details regarding the Manx National Heritage (MNH) Biodiversity Fund, including its balance, rules, and application history. The authority disclosed that the fund was established in 2012/13 with an initial £25,000 but was never open to applications and no longer exists as of 2024.

Key Facts

• The MNH Biodiversity Fund was established in the financial year 2012/13.
• The fund was never open to public applications and no projects were funded.
• The fund no longer exists as of the 31 March 2024 financial year.
• The Manx Museum and National Trust (MMNT) remains the fund holder and administrator.
• The fund was intended to support local biodiversity projects aligned with DEFA's Biodiversity Action Plans.

Data Disclosed

• £25,000
• 2012/13
• 31 March 2024
• 31 March 2023
• 27,100
• 26,622
• 26,531
• 26,285
• 26,284
• 26,077
• 26,002
• 25,857
• 25,791
• 25,714
• 25,003
• 2011-12
• 2011

Original Request

Please can you inform me: How much is in the MNH Biodiversity Fund as of today? When the MNH Biodiversity Fund was established? What is the purpose of this fund? What are the rules of this fund? Who is responsible for the running of the fund? Please provide their TORs? What was the closing balance for the fund for each year FY/reporting since 2011? How many applications have been made annually to the fund since 2011? How many applications have been approved annually since 2011? Please include brief details. How many applications have been rejected annually since 2011? Please include brief details. Can the fund be used outside of the Isle of Man? Is the fund audited annually? How do you apply to this fund? How does MNH evaluate the impact of this fund?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

FOI 4544806 MNH Response 1 of 4 FOI 4544806 – MNH Biodiversity Fund "“Please can you inform me: How much is in the MNH Biodiversity Fund as of today? When the MNH Biodiversity Fund was established? What is the purpose of this fund? What are the rules of this fund? Who is responsible for the running of the fund? Please provide their TORs? What was the closing balance for the fund for each year FY/reporting since 2011? How many applications have been made annually to the fund since 2011? How many applications have been approved annually since 2011? Please include brief details. How many applications have been rejected annually since 2011? Please include brief details. Can the fund be used outside of the Isle of Man? Is the fund audited annually? How do you apply to this fund? How does MNH evaluate the impact of this fund?”

Answer Our response to the above questions is as follows:

Introduction The Manx Museum and National Trust (MMNT), trading as Manx National Heritage (MNH) is a registered Charity which relies on funds raised to enable it to carry out its charitable purposes. It is not a grant-awarding body and its funds are not made available for individuals or bodies to apply to access.

Answers to specific questions How much is in the MNH Biodiversity Fund as of today? Nil. The MNH Biodiversity Fund no longer exists. When was the MNH Biodiversity Fund established? The MNH Biodiversity Fund was established by the Trust in the financial year 2012/13.

FOI 4544806 MNH Response 2 of 4 What is the purpose of this fund? Manx National Heritage is a significant landowner on the Island and is responsible for some of the more sensitive areas of coastline as well as the Calf of Man. MNH officers worked closely with officers in the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) during the development of the Isle of Man Government Strategic Plan for Biodiversity during 2011-12. MMNT Trustees fully supported the principles of the IOMG Biodiversity Strategy and, by way of committing a contribution to this overarching strategy, agreed to allocate a sum of charitable reserves to establish a Manx National Heritage Biodiversity Fund as a long-term commitment to the biodiversity of the Island, with a focus on contributing to larger-scale, significant projects, with the aim of building up a sustainable fund capable of supporting eligible local projects. What are the rules of this fund? DEFA’s Biodiversity Action Plans were envisaged as the main driver for projects and priorities for funding, and a qualifying project framework would be considered, guided by the Biodiversity Strategy priorities. However, with changing Government priorities over time, this framework remained under development and was not progressed. Who is responsible for the running of the fund? Please provide their TORs? MMNT Trustees agreed to transfer £25,000 from the MMNT charitable reserves to set up the MNH Biodiversity Fund, with the Manx Museum and National Trust remaining the fund holder and administrator of the MNH Fund. What was the closing balance for the fund for each year FY/reporting since 2011? The closing balances for each financial year since the fund’s establishment are provided in the following table. Financial Year Closing balance (£) 31 March 2024 - 31 March 2023 27,100 31 March 2022 26,622 31 March 2021 26,531 31 March 2020 26,285 31 March 2019 26,284 31 March 2018 26,077 31 March 2017 26,002 31 March 2016 25,857 31 March 2015 25,791 31 March 2014 25,714 31 March 2013 25,003

FOI 4544806 MNH Response 3 of 4 How many applications have been made annually to the fund since 2011? As both the fund and the proposed framework remained under development, the fund was not open to applications nor publicly marketed. How many applications have been approved annually since 2011? Please include brief details. Not applicable – the fund was not open to applications. How many applications have been rejected annually since 2011? Please include brief details. Not applicable – see above. Can the fund be used outside of the Isle of Man? Not applicable – the fund no longer exists. Is the fund audited annually? The funds of the Trust are a key component of the financial statements of the Trust. The financial statements of the Trust are audited annually and submitted to the Attorney General Chambers as Charities Regulator.
How do you apply to this fund? The fund was never open to applications and no longer exists. How does MNH evaluate the impact of this fund? The Trustees continually assess the purpose and performance of the funds of the Trust. The review in recent years resulted in a change in the Reserves Policy as outlined in the Additional Information below.

Additional Information The annual financial statements for the Trust are accessible to the public via the Attorney General Chambers as Charities Regulator and are also published on the Manx National Heritage website.
During the financial year 2023/24, the Trustees reviewed and revised the Reserves Policy of the Trust, as extensively documented in the 2023/24 Financial Statements1 within the Report of Trustees.
During that review, Trustees determined it was more appropriate to administer the funds of the Trust in line with the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) using the funding allocation of Restricted Funds, Unrestricted Funds and Designated Funds. The Biodiversity Fund was no longer considered suitable in the current economic climate.

1 https://manxnationalheritage.im/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/MMNT-Financial-Statements-for-year-ended-March- 2024.pdf (pp. 8-10)

FOI 4544806 MNH Response 4 of 4 As outlined in the Report of Trustees, this change was brought in to strengthen the long-term financial sustainability of the Trust and better communicate to stakeholders the level and usage of the funds of the Trust. As part of this accounting change, all funds were reviewed during the transition from the old classification to the new one. An exercise was conducted to determine how much of each of the old funds was restricted.
How these funds moved are detailed in Notes 10 and 15 of the 2023/24 Financial Statements.

xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx Our ref: 4544806 28 April 2025
Dear xxxx We write further to your request, received 27 March 2025, which states:
"Please can you inform me:
How much is in the MNH Biodiversity Fund as of today?
When the MNH Biodiversity Fund was established?
What is the purpose of this fund?
What are the rules of this fund?
Who is responsible for the running of the fund? Please provide their TORs?
What was the closing balance for the fund for each year FY/reporting since 2011?
How many applications have been made annually to the fund since 2011?
How many applications have been approved annually since 2011? Please include brief details. How many applications have been rejected annually since 2011? Please include brief details.
Can the fund be used outside of the Isle of Man?
Is the fund audited annually?
How do you apply to this fund?
How does MNH evaluate the impact of this fund?" Our response to your request is as follows: • I have enclosed a copy of the information that is being released to you. Please quote the reference number 4544806 in any future communications. 2 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

Ellen Callister Corporate Services Manager