Freedom of Information Request - Nature Restoration Fund
Date: 19 September 2024
Our ref: SIR176862/A4742573
Information Request – Nature Restoration Fund
Thank you for your information request, which we received on 27 August 2024. We have considered your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’).
Your Request
‘details of all grant funding paid out by the Nature Restoration Fund over the past 3-4 years since its inception. The information I wish to obtain is a list of the individual projects supported, the organization receiving the funding, and the amount awarded. Thank you in advance. With the news that NRF is being withdrawn, I wanted to see the type of projects that might be affected’.
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is attached separately. The list of projects we have supported through our competitive fund dates back to 2021, when the Nature Restoration Fund was first launched. Some grants have been offered to support marine nature restoration via the Scottish Marine Environment Enhancement Fund.
We also bring to your attention that the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund comprises both a competitive fund, managed by NatureScot, and direct funding to local authorities through the Edinburgh Process. The £5 million reallocation of funding which was announced just prior to your request, only relates to the funds allocated directly to local authorities through the Edinburgh Process, for the current financial year. We do not hold any information about which projects supported by local authorities may be affected by this decision.
NatureScot will continue to actively support a wide range of nature restoration projects across Scotland, including transformative, multi-year projects, through the competitive element of the Nature Restoration Fund.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot
Document downloads
Due to accessibility issues the attached information, referenced above, is available on request by contacting the FOI team at [email protected]. Please reference the case number (starting with SIR).
Last updated:
