Energy correspondence: EIR release

Information requested

1. Could you supply all minutes/notes from meetings of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board from the last six months?

2. Shona Robison has confirmed that the Scottish Government are expecting to have spent £606m of the ScotWind money by the end of year 3, could you supply a breakdown of what this was spent on?

3. What is the average amount of time for Scots to receive funding/grants to get a heat pump, the median time, and the three longest waits?

4. Could you supply all briefings prepared for, all minutes/notes from meetings, all correspondence sent and received by the Government, including internally, from or to Gillian Martin about Rosebank oil field, and Gillian Martin and oil and gas fields, between November 1 2023 and the date of this FOI?

5. Could you supply all briefings prepared for, all minutes/notes from meetings, all correspondence sent and received by the Government, including internally, about the clean heat market mechanism, between November 1 2023 and the date of this FOI?

Response

1. Could you supply all minutes/notes from meetings of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board from the last six months?

All minutes/notes from meetings of the Scottish Energy Advisory Board from the last six months can be found online at the following links:

• Scottish Energy Advisory Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Scottish Energy Advisory Board - Special Meeting to discuss Energy Strategy Just Transition Plan: 11 March 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Scottish Energy Advisory Board minutes: December 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

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.

2. Shona Robison has confirmed that the Scottish Government are expecting to have spent £606m of the ScotWind money by the end of year 3, could you supply a breakdown of what this was spent on?

The Scottish Government does not apply specific sources of funding to specific projects. Funding is considered in totality and supports the budget position as a whole.

To date £96 million of ScotWind funding was used in 2022-23 to support the overall financial position. Confirmation of the utilisation of ScotWind funding in 2023-24 will be confirmed as part of the Provisional Outturn process in June. £200 million of ScotWind is currently profiled into 2024-25 to support the Scottish Budget.

3. What is the average amount of time for Scots to receive funding/grants to get a heat pump, the median time, and the three longest waits?

The answer to your part of your question is, in the most recent reporting period which covered from 1 March to 31 March 2024, under the contract between Scottish Government and Energy Saving Trust, 99% of customers had their payments issued within 10 working days of submitting of a fully completed claim with all relevant paperwork. Several schemes are delivered through this contract, including the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme, the SME Loan Scheme, and the Private Rented Sector Landlord Loan Scheme.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. In this case, this exception is applied as The Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the average or longest time to receive grants for heat pumps. This is as the Energy Savings Trust do not track, hold, or report to the Scottish Government, the average or longest time taken to process fully completed applications.

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. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about waiting times for customers to receive funding through HES Grant and Loan Scheme, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

4. Could you supply all briefings prepared for, all minutes/notes from meetings, all correspondence sent and received by the Government, including internally, from or to Gillian Martin about Rosebank oil field, and Gillian Martin and oil and gas fields, between November 1 2023 and the date of this FOI?

I enclose a copy of some of the information you request - please see attached Annex B.

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 Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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.

5. Could you supply all briefings prepared for, all minutes/notes from meetings, all correspondence sent and received by the Government, including internally, about the clean heat market mechanism, between November 1 2023 and the date of this FOI?

I enclose a copy of some of the information you request - please see attached Annex C.

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 Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. 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.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(d) – material in the course of completion applies to some of the information requested because it is information about policy which is still in draft form. After applying the public interest test we have found that on balance the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception as the risk to providing false information overrides the need for open government.

An exception under regulation 10(4)(e) – internal communication applies to some of the information requested because it concerns the provision of legal advice. After applying the public interest test we have found that on balance the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception as, even though there is a need for open and transparent government, the requirement to have a space for free and frank advice within government is key in the case of this information.

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.

EIR 202400410933 - Information released - Annex B

File type

3 page PDF

File size

329.6 kB

EIR 202400410933 - Information released - Annex C

File type

87 page PDF

File size

4.6 MB