Nuclear Decommissioning Authority funding: FOI release

Information requested

You asked for records of any instances where the Scottish Government has not provided the agreed monies to the HIE and /or the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority within the last 6 years.

Response

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested in relation to Highlands and Islands Enterprise would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. The reason for this is that to locate and retrieve that information we would need to conduct a search of all of the records of the Scottish Government. It may help if I explain that we file our information within a business area and according to the subject matter.

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

You may, however, wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order that the costs can be brought below £600. For example, you have mentioned any instances where the Scottish Government has not provided the agreed monies to HIE but you can restrict your request to a specific business area of the Scottish Government, as this would allow us to limit the searches that would require to be conducted. Details of the Scottish Government’s structure including its breakdown into Directorates can be located at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/about/how-government-is-run/. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx as well as finding further relevant information on the Highlands and Islands Enterprise website - http://www.hie.co.uk/

We do aim to provide information where possible and we, like all public authorities subject to FOISA, have an obligation to provide advice and assistance under section 15(1) of the Act. In undertaking this request I did seek input regarding the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority which I provide below to aid your understanding.

The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), as per the Energy Act 2004 the NDA has responsibility for managing civil nuclear liabilities in the United Kingdom, including Scotland and Wales. The NDA is funded principally by BEIS and through income generation from commercial operations or on behalf of other Government organisations. I can confirm therefore that under these arrangements, the Scottish Government has no record of any payments being made to the NDA in the past 6 years.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that the Scottish Government does not have this information that you have requested.

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.