Applications received of the Just Transition Fund: EIR release

Information requested

On the 10th October 2022, the Scottish Government announced the award of over £50 m in the first round of the Just Transition Fund allocations. Please can you provide the following information:

1. How many applications were received in total for this round of the Just Transition Fund?
2. What criteria was used to assess the applications?
3. Who was responsible for determining the successful and unsuccessful applications?
4. What commitments have successful applications made as part of receiving funding?
5. Will the award of funding be contingent on the delivery of specific environmental, social or economic commitments?
6. What was the primary reason for unsuccessful applications?

Response

How many applications were received in total for this round of the Just Transition Fund?

102 applications were received

What criteria was used to assess the applications?

The assessment criteria and Just Transition Outcomes were published on the Scottish Government website alongside the call for proposals in May and can still be accessed online at: [ARCHIVED CONTENT] Assessment criteria and weighting - Just Transition Fund: call for year one projects - gov.scot (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Who was responsible for determining the successful and unsuccessful applications?

The decision to fund projects was taken by Scottish Ministers, following the development of a shortlist of recommended projects scored against the published assessment criteria and Just Transition Outcomes. The proposals were initially appraised by the JTF project team against the assessment criteria and JTF outcomes. Scottish Government officials provided comments on the proposals relating to their area of policy expertise. Expertise from Scottish Enterprise (SE) was seconded into the team to support commercial evaluation of the bids, with a particular focus on subsidy control and to make links with other SE supported activity. The three Local Authorities (Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray) were provided with access to review the proposals and the comments received for projects in their respective areas assisted in the selection of the recommended projects. This shortlist was narrowed down to a cohesive package of projects for the region that provides a geographical spread of the Fund, as well as a good mix of projects types and sectors to test our approach to the JTF.

What commitments have successful applications made as part of receiving funding?

Will the award of funding be contingent on the delivery of specific environmental, social or economic commitments?

Each project contains a range of different deliverable targets and milestones, however all projects were assessed against published criteria which included a number of common commitments such as:

1. Potential to have a positive and significant impact on good green jobs (including the number of jobs created/protected).
2. Commitment to the following Fair Work First criteria in a way that is relevant and proportionate for the organisation:

• appropriate channels for effective voice, such as trade union recognition;
• investment in workforce development;
• no inappropriate use of zero hours contracts;
• action to tackle the gender pay gap and create a more diverse and inclusive workplace;
• payment of the real Living Wage

3. Community wealth building including evidence of partnership working and engagement with relevant businesses to build up supply chain and skills capacity.

Large capital projects were asked to demonstrate positive impact against the mandatory Decarbonisation and Efficiencies Just Transition Outcome.

What was the primary reason for unsuccessful applications?

There is not a single leading reason why projects were unsuccessful, however many projects did not sufficiently show how well they fit within the eight Just Transition Objectives outlined on the web page and in the assessment criteria therein. A key area where many projects did not meet the criteria was the deliverability of the project and team expertise. Some of the proposals were also rejected as they did not fully meet the eligibility criteria.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.