Micro business scheme

Summary

The requester asked for the names and grant amounts of businesses supported by the Micro Business Scheme for 2017/18 and 2018 to date. The Department for Enterprise withheld this specific information citing an exemption regarding economic interests but provided aggregate statistics on applications and training numbers.

Key Facts

• The Micro Business Grant Scheme (MBGS) provides training, financial support, and business mentoring to start-ups.
• Financial support caps were increased in May 2018 from £5,000 to £6,000 for standard applications and up to £15,000 for export-driven sectors.
• The Department refused to release individual business names and grant amounts to avoid discouraging future applicants.
• Aggregate data was released showing 184 applications and 88 contracts signed in 2017/18.
• The exemption applied is Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act, relating to prejudice to economic interests.

Data Disclosed

• 2017/18
• 2018 to date
• £5,000
• £6,000
• £15,000
• £10,000
• 184 applications
• 160 individuals trained
• 88 contracts signed
• 62 applications
• 381 individuals trained
• 232 contracts signed
• 18 months
• 5 days
• 2018-07-10
• 2018-08-06
• 24 July 2018

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Act (prejudice to economic interests)

Original Request

Please provide the names of any business who have received grants/support from Micro Business Scheme. Please include the amount of each grant and the support they have received, eg Business Advisor hours. This would be for the financial years 2017/18 and 2018 to date. Thank you

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

Our ref: 522836 24 July 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 10 July 2018 and which states:

"Please provide the names of any business who have received grants/support from Micro Business Scheme. Please include the amount of each grant and the support they have received, eg Business Advisor hours. This would be for the financial years 2017/18 and 2018 to date. "

The response to your request is as follows: Before responding to your specific request it is worth setting out how the Micro Business Grant Scheme (MBGS) works. The purpose of the Scheme is to give budding entrepreneurs and small start-ups the necessary financial support, training and business acumen to help get their business off the ground. The Scheme offers three levels of support: 1) 5 days of training to enable individuals to consider their business idea and learn valuable skills to assist them in setting up and running their business; 2) financial support; 3) all clients offered a grant will be partnered with a business advisor who will mentor them for the 18 months following contract signings through quarterly meetings and interim support. Further details of the MBGS can be found at: https://www.gov.im/micro In terms of financial support, it should be noted that until May 2018 the maximum available for any one individual was £5,000. This has now been increased, and financial assistance is now capped at £6,000 for standard applications, while businesses which operate in an export driven sector with substantial sales made to off- Island customers may receive £15,000. In addition, applicants to the scheme who successfully sign contracts and go on to generate additional employment (other than the owners) may be eligible to apply for a further grant of up to £10,000. It should be noted however that as these changes have been only recently introduced, no businesses have yet received the new levels of support. Page 2 of 4 In terms of the number of applicants, we can provide the following information: 2017/18 2018/19 to date Applications 184 62 Individuals trained 160 381 Contracts signed 88 232 “Please provide the names of any business who have received grants/support from Micro Business Scheme…for the financial years 2017/18 and 2018 to date.” The Department holds the names of the individuals and businesses that have applied to the Scheme. However in this instance the information requested is exempt under section 30 of the Act, as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the economic interests of the Island as disclosing the information would be likely to dissuade individuals from applying to the Scheme, if they knew their company names and the value of assistance were to be released. Individuals who apply for support via the MBGS are often new to running a business. They are normally run by one individual as a sole trader. The purpose of the Scheme is to help them with their business idea and the practicalities of running a business. If the individual supported makes it far enough through the Scheme, they will register the name of their business. It is important to note that individuals who apply to the Scheme have no expectation that their names or the names of their businesses will be released into the public domain. As section 30 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 disclosing the information include: • transparency and demonstrating how taxpayers’ money is spent. Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include: • in this case the amounts of money provided to each individual are relatively low • the Department has provided figures of the number of individuals/businesses supported plus details of the maximum values of support • the Department considers that releasing the names of fledgling businesses whose owners have received support through the MGBS will be likely to put off individuals from applying for support under the Scheme. In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, the Department for Enterprise has taken the following into consideration: • the severity of the impact of the prejudice: then Department considers that the impact on the Scheme would be severe. • the age of the information: the request seeks information from 2017/18 & 2018 to date, therefore the information will be current. 1 Only 1 individual of the 38 is entitled to the new levels of support. 2 None of the 23 individuals are entitled to the new levels of support. Page 3 of 4 • how far disclosure would further the public interests identified above: as stated above releasing the names of new businesses that are starting up as a result of support under the MBGS will not particularly further the public interests stated above. The amounts provided to individuals starting up these businesses are small (up to £5,000). We have identified no particular benefit in the names of the businesses being released into the public domain other than transparency. • whether there is any similar information in the public domain and whether this affects the public interest?: the names of businesses which receive funding under the Financial Assistance Scheme and the Enterprise Development Scheme are made public via an annual report to Tynwald, but the amounts provided to such businesses are much greater in value. • would disclosure correct misinformation?: the Department is not aware of any misinformation in the public domain relating to the MBGS. • has prejudice from disclosure already occurred to the degree that a further disclosure won’t materially affect the prejudice already caused?: the Department is unaware of any such disclosure. In taking all of these factors into account the Department determines that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

“Please include the amount of each grant and the support they have received, eg Business Advisor hours…for the financial years 2017/18 and 2018 to date.” While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance, complying with your request for information would require the Department for Enterprise to undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds, which the Department is not required to do under the Act. To provide the amount of each grant and details of individual support received would require a considerable amount of staff time in order to examine each contract to determine how much each applicant had been authorised to claim in grant support and/or living allowance, and then run through our payments systems to see how much they had claimed to date. Further, owing to the way in which the budget is managed, the full living allowance is accounted for at the point it is authorised, while grant support is accounted for as it is claimed. We would therefore need to tally the number of instalments of living allowance each applicant has received. However we can reiterate that financial support, until 15 May 2018, was capped at £5,000 (and has recently been increased to £6,000). The level of support provided is calculated using information contained within the business plan and takes into consideration a recommendation from their business advisor appointed by the Department. The amount of support per applicant can vary and can be entirely a 50% grant for equipment which the applicant has already purchased and paid for, a living allowance of up to £80 per week for 30 weeks, or a combination of the two. It should also be noted that where a business closes within its 18 month contract period, the business may be liable for repayments to the Department. Each individual receives training and normally receives three action plans meetings prior to any potential contract signing. Should the business be viable and a contract signed, they then receive a further six mandatory mentoring meetings. Meetings are Page 4 of 4 approximately one hour in duration as standard. Additional meetings may be requested. Please quote the reference number 522836 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