Information on the organisation's energy management system: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/18/01367
Date received: 14 May 2018
Date responded: 24 May 2018

Information requested

Details of the organisation's contract relating to their energy management system. Not all organisations have energy management system and if the organisation does not have one please ignore the contractual part of my request (1-6) and concentrate on questions 7-12.

1. The supplier who provides the software to the organisation?
2. The cost associated with the software. Please provide me with the annual spend.
3. What is the brand of the software?
4. What is the duration of the contract?
5. When does this contract expire?
6. When does the organisation plan to review this contract?
7. Can you please provide me with the contract description of the services provided under the agreement with the supplier? This also includes potential extensions and support and maintenance services.
8. What is the organisation's annual energy spend for the following:
a) Electricity
b) Gas
c) Water
9. What is the total number of meter points for Electricity for:
a) Non Half Hourly (NHH) meter points
b) Half Hourly (HH) meter points
10. What is the total number of Gas meter points?
11. What is the total number of Water meter points?
12. What is the total number of meter points for specialist gases and liquids?
13. Can you please provide me with the contact details of the key person responsible for this contract or around energy management.
14. Can you please send me the organisations' energy management strategy/plan that covers 2018?

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Education Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs relating to questions 1-7 only.

Questions 1-7 relate to a contract for an energy management system which Education Scotland does not have.

Question 8
Education Scotland's annual energy spend is as follows:
a) £101,848
b) £160
c) £48,924 (including sewerage and drainage charges).

These costs are based on financial year 2017-18. They include space occupied in Denholm House, Livingston; Endeavour House, Dundee; The Optima Building, Glasgow; and Tom Johnston Road, Dundee, the latter of which has now been exited following lease expiry.

Question 9
The total number of meter points for Electricity that Education Scotland will have from 2018-19 are:
a) Two Non Half Hourly (NHH) meter points.
b) Zero Half Hourly (HH) meter points.

These relate to two properties, Denholm House, Livingston and Endeavour House, Dundee. Tom Johnston Road, Dundee, has now been vacated and electricity for space occupied in The Optima Building, Glasgow, is managed by the landlord.

Question 10
Following exit from Tom Johnston Road in 2017, Dundee, Education Scotland have no gas meter points.

Question 11
Education Scotland have one meter point in Denholm House, Livingston, for water supply. All other properties are unmetered or managed by landlords.

Question 12
Education Scotland have no meter points for specialist gases and liquids.

Question 13
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Data Protection Act 1998. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

Contact details for all Education Scotland staff is through our publicly available Enquiries mailbox. Simply forward any enquiry, with a subject heading of Facilities Team, for example, to the link below and the email will be sent on to the appropriate team. mailto:enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk

Question 14
Some of the information you have requested is available from the sustainability section of our annual accounts https://education.gov.scot/who-we-are/management/Annual%20accounts and climate change report https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/sustainability-climate-change/sustainable-scotland-network/climate-change-reporting/climate-change-reports/.

Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) of the EIRs (unfinished or incomplete information) applies to some of the information you have requested under question 14 because a climate change action plan is being considered for development. A publication date has not been scheduled.

This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception.

We recognise that there is some public interest in release as part of open, transparent and accountable government. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring that information which is under consideration is not disclosed when it might misinform the public.

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