Freedom of Information Request - Peatland ACTION grants
Date: 24 February 2025
Our ref: SIR178462/A5003560
Information Request – Peatland ACTION grants
Your Request
Original request
Please can I ask that you provide the following information about the Peatland ACTION fund, which is administrated by Nature Scot:
A list of all applications for Peatland ACTION funding since the programme was launched in 2012 to the date at which you process this request. For each application please include the date the application was received, how much funding was applied for, the size of the land to be restored and its location, along with any other information which is routinely required in an application to the fund.
Please also include whether or not each application was approved and, if so, what date it was approved, how much funding was approved, for what area of land (if the figures approved differ from what was applied for), and other other information routinely provided when an application to the fund is approved.
When it comes to the location of an applicant's land I appreciate you may wish to apply an exemption for personal information. If so, please provide at least the council area(s) the land is in, and the first three digits of the postcode, in separate columns.
Revised request
I'm content reducing the time range of this request to the last three funding cycles, including the latest which I understand closed 31 May 2024, with initial decisions on applications reached by end of June 2024.
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is attached separately.
Where the name of a grant recipient is a private individual, this has been removed. Releasing personal data into the public domain in response to an access to information request would breach the Data Protection Act 2018. We are therefore withholding the information under 11(2) (Personal Data) of the EIRs.
We do not routinely record the postcode of a project so this information is not provided.
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).
