Grant

Summary

The requester asked for details on grants and payments under the £50 million Enterprise Development Scheme, specifically regarding Spark Impact. The Department for Enterprise clarified that the fund provides loans or equity rather than grants and withheld specific 2017/18 data under Section 41 as it is scheduled for future publication in government accounts.

Key Facts

• The £50 million Enterprise Development Scheme provides loans or equity investment, not grants.
• Information requested for 2017/18 is exempt from disclosure because it is held for future publication.
• Data for 2016/17 regarding business names and support amounts is already publicly available in the Enterprise Act Annual Report.
• Fees paid to the Scheme Manager (Spark) for 2017/18 are scheduled to be published in July 2018.
• The Department determined that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the interest in immediate disclosure.

Data Disclosed

• £50 million
• 2018-05-08
• 2018-06-05
• 2016/17
• 2017/18
• 28 November 2017
• July
• page 84
• 462337

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 (Information reasonably accessible)
• Section 41 (Information intended for future publication)

Original Request

How much of the 50 million has been granted, and how much paid out The name of buisness that have received a grant How much has been paid to sparks

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department for Enterprise • 1st Floor, St George’s Court • Upper Church Street • Douglas • Isle of Man • IM1 1EX

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624) 685375 Website: www.gov.im/dfe Email: foi.ded@gov.im

Our ref: 462337 30 May 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request in relation to the Enterprise Development Scheme which was received on 8 May 2018 and which states:

"How much of the 50 million has been granted, and how much paid out The name of business that have received a grant How much has been paid to Spark [Impact]"

Firstly, it should be noted that grants are not made under the Enterprise Development Scheme. Rather, the £50 million fund is for loan or equity investment. There is therefore no difference between how much funding is made available to businesses and how much has been “paid out”. 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 is available publicly already. The names of the businesses that funding has been provided to under the Enterprise Development Scheme 2015; and the total amount of financial support made available, for 2016/17, is available in the Enterprise Act Annual Report 2016/17: http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/Tynwald%2020162018/2017-GD-0071. Further information on the names of the businesses that have received support, and the total amount granted, as at the end of October 2017, plus the total fees can be found in answer to question 2.11 in the House of Keys sitting on 28 November 2017: http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/hansard/20002020/k171128.pdf. The fees paid to the Scheme Manager for 2016/17 can be found in the IOM Government Detailed Accounts 2016/17 (see "Investment Management Fees" on page 84): https://www.gov.im/media/1358013/detailed-government-accounts-year-ended-31-march- 2017.pdf.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 41 of the Act as it is held with a view to being published at a future date in the IOM Government Detailed Accounts 2017/18 and in all the circumstances it is reasonable that the information be withheld from disclosure until that time.

As section 41 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure • Public interest in transparency of financial management and accountability.

Factors in favour of withholding • Under the Enterprise Development Scheme 2015, the Department of Enterprise is required to report the names of businesses that receive funding and the total amount granted in the Enterprise Act Annual Reports which are laid before Tynwald and are made available online. The full information as to the names of businesses and the amount granted for 2017/18 will therefore be published by the end of the present calendar year. The fees paid to the Scheme Manager for 2017/18 will be published in July in the IOM Government Detailed accounts for 2017/18. Therefore the public interest in transparency of financial management and accountability will be fulfilled via these means. • The information is to be published in the near future – in the case of the fees paid to Spark, in July, and in the case of the names of businesses and the total amount of support provided, by the end of 2018.

In taking these factors into account the the Department determines that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 462337 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

Freedom of Information Team Department for Enterprise