Marine Scotland budget spend and headcount 2015-2025: EIR release
- Published
- 16 January 2025
- Directorate
- Marine Directorate
- FOI reference
- FOI/202400427833
- Date received
- 22 August 2024
- Date responded
- 30 August 2024
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Information to support the CFAs attendance at a Committee session on the 4th September 2024. The full text of your request is included under Annex 1, and I have numbered each of your bulleted requests in order to make clear which question is being answered in the response section below.
1. How many FOIs have Marine Directorate received on an annual basis over the last 10 years? It would be helpful to have an estimate of how much time/resource is dedicated to completing such FOIs, also it would be helpful to have these FOIs broken down by sector (eg eNGOs, public, fishing org) or even by region if possible? Also is there a dedicated budget/resource for FOIs?
2. How much has been spent on fisheries science and more general marine science in the Clyde marine region specifically annually from 2014 onwards year by year?
3. How much resource and spend has been allocated to fisheries and marine science in the Scottish Inshore and the Scottish Offshore over the last decade? Ideally it would be good to have this detail annually.
4. How much has been spent annually on compliance and fisheries monitoring in the Clyde Marine Area since 2014? For this we include fuel for vessels/planes etc, Marine Scotland/Marine Directorate staff time and any resources expended whilst monitoring Clyde fisheries or raising awareness of monitoring and compliance (eg costs involved in sessions with eNGOs etc)? Also how does this compare relatively with the national average and/or other marine areas where data is available? If schedules of past monitoring and compliance activity are available nationally and/or for the Clyde this would be very helpful, particularly of past vessel routes re compliance. A resource cost for Operation Galene would be welcomed.
5. How much resource from Marine Directorate/Scotland has been spent annually responding, researching in advance or during and taking part in Judicial Reviews? Also if possible a breakdown on resource allocated would be helpful, ie lawyers fees, Scottish Government Staff Time, any consultancy work etc. Also is there a dedicated budget for participation in activities such as Judicial Reviews?
6. In 2016 £500,000 was committed to evaluating and conducting science following the 2016 MPA designations and management measures, this was in line with a 3 point plan over a period of 3 years from 2016. Its remit was to work specifically with local Scottish fishermen impacted by or fishing in or around MPAs designated at that time to monitor and create science. This funding was not utilised as far as we are aware, and the collaborative work with fishermen on science was not completed. Why was this work not completed and where is this committed resource now?
7. How much resource has been spent annually on the Clyde Marine Planning Partnership and the Clyde Marine Forum over the last decade from Scottish Government funds? This would include support and funding for staff, events, research etc, also any funding from NatureScot/SNH and Marine Directorate/Marine Scotland or any other Scottish Government departments in kind or in cash resource?
8. How much EMFF and Scottish Government Marine Fund resource has been dedicated to infrastructure or science projects in the Clyde area over the last decade? Annual data would be excellent. Also a breakdown between sectors of allocation of funding would be good, ie eNGO or fisheries organisations allocation etc.
9. How much resource has been allocated to the IFG network in the last decade? It would be excellent to have this data by regional area too if possible.
10. An overview of the budget and staffing levels and spend annually of Marine Directorate/Marine Scotland staff and departments over the last ten years would be very helpful. It would be particularly helpful to have resource spend/allocation for fisheries, marine planning, renewables, aquaculture and conservation.
Response
1. I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested. I have interpreted your request for information on FOIs to include both requests under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOIs) and the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs).
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. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because we have no means of identifying Marine Scotland FOI/EIR cases handled prior to 2017.
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 FOI/EIR requests handled by the Marine Directorate, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
I have provided Table 1 below of FOI/EIR cases handled by the Marine Directorate from the period 1 January 2017 to end January 2020. The Marine Directorate transferred recording of FOI/EIR requests to a new SG corporate system from February 2020. Prior to this date, the ‘type’ of requesters was not recorded but requests from individuals can be separated.
Year |
Total Number |
Individuals |
2017 |
122 |
41 |
2018 |
174 |
64 |
2019 |
173 |
64 |
2020 (to end January) |
5 |
4 |
Table 1: Number of FOI/EIR requests received by Marine Directorate 2017 – Jan 2020
I have provided Table 2 below of FOI/EIR cases handled by the Marine Directorate from the period 1 February 2020 to 28th August 2024. The SG corporate system records the ‘type’ of requester as detailed below.
Year |
Elected Representative |
Individual |
Media |
Organisation |
Other |
Researcher |
Solicitor |
Grand Total |
2020 |
|
51 |
3 |
28 |
|
3 |
2 |
87 |
2021 |
|
76 |
6 |
35 |
|
1 |
3 |
121 |
2022 |
1 |
111 |
3 |
43 |
3 |
9 |
8 |
178 |
2023 |
|
78 |
5 |
61 |
7 |
19 |
2 |
172 |
2024 |
1 |
81 |
4 |
37 |
|
3 |
5 |
131 |
Grand Total |
2 |
398 |
21 |
204 |
10 |
35 |
20 |
691 |
Table 2: Number of FOI/EIR requests received by Marine Directorate Feb 2020 – 28 August 2024
Since June 2020, Marine Directorate cases have been held on a central Scottish Government database. The functionality of the system is to allocate and record cases to individuals, rather than to specific Directorates. As a result, when staff move outwith Marine Directorate to other Directorates, or vice versa, their case metadata changes to reflect their current position. As a result, the information I have provided from Feb 2020 to August 2024 may not reflect all of the FOI/EIR cases handled by Marine Directorate, and may also include cases from other Directorates.
Since March 2022, case-handlers with Marine Directorate self-report the time spent on responding to individual FOI/EIR requests. The total time recorded, up to 22nd August 2024, is 1911 days.
Since November 2022, Marine Directorate has resourced a dedicated FOI/EIR Advisor post which is currently 1 FTE.
Questions 2, 3, 5, 7, 9
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. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no business requirement for officials to allocate their time spent working on tasks for Marine Directorate between different tasks they perform, for example time allocated to specific projects in certain geographical areas.
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 Marine Directorate resources allocated to the Clyde, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
4. 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. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because there is no business requirement for asset costs to be allocated by sea area. Additionally it is not possible to compare the Clyde area with other areas, because the Clyde is distinct as is the level of fishing activity there. Given we do not hold details of asset costs by sea area we are unable to provide details of the total costs that you have specified.
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 Compliance activities in the Clyde, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold
6. This commitment was delivered through an EMFF funded project, launched in 2017 alongside the MPA Monitoring Strategy to offer opportunities for fishermen to participate in survey and monitoring, providing a source of income to the industry following should they wish to participate in the programme.
In total, eight surveys were carried out in 2018 and 2019 with owners and skippers invited to bid to provide the vessel for each of eight drop-down video surveys. The project concluded in 2020 and the final project report was published in 2021: Engaging the Fishing Industry in Marine Environmental Survey and Monitoring | Marine Scotland Data Publications. The project experienced lower than anticipated stakeholder uptake for survey work and this is recognised in the final report. Another key element of the project was engagement with the fishing industry which was undertaken throughout the project and regular updates were provided to involved stakeholders, as well as through Regional Inshore Fisheries Groups.
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.
8. Some of the information you have requested is available from: Grants awarded - Marine and fisheries grants - 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.
Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) we would like to advise you that there are Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) projects which are based in the Clyde area but work is undertaken in other locations and vice versa, so there is an element of subjectivity to the following lists.
2021-2024 Marine Fund Scotland Projects in the Clyde area
Ref. |
Applicant |
Project |
SCOMFF1164 |
Glasgow University |
Environmental DNA as a tool for avoiding seaweed farm biofouling |
SCOMFF1440 |
Bernard Corrigan Limited |
Lobster Pod Shellfish Holding System |
1113 |
Keep Scotland Beautiful |
Upstream Battle Clyde |
1261 |
Community of Arran Seabed Trust - COAST |
Arran's marine protected areas data analysis |
1329 |
Glasgow City Council |
Riverine Litter Project - Litter Boom Installation on the River Clyde (Phase 1) |
Projects 1452 and 1510 were also awarded in 2023/24, but both withdrew and no grant was paid.
2024/25 MFS awards in the Clyde area – these have not been announced yet so are not on the website, we would therefore appreciate the use of discretion until they are officially announced,
Reference |
Applicant |
Project |
Cost (£) |
Grant award (£) |
2167 |
A & ASF Ltd |
Purchase and installation of Periwinkle grading equipment |
18,096.34 |
9,048.17 |
2214 |
Fishing into the future |
Clyde Fisheries Resource Education Programme |
51,015.20 |
51015.20 |
2241 |
Community of Arran Seabed Trust - COAST |
See the Sea programme |
29,464.09 |
29464.09 |
2297 |
Clyde Fishermen's Trust |
Port Glasgow Community, Training and innovation Hub |
72,003.00 |
72,003.00 |
2320 |
Keep Scotland Beautiful |
Upstream Battle 2024/25 |
136,500.00 |
136,500.00 |
10. Some of the information you have requested is available from:
Pre-budget scrutiny 2025 to 2026 | Scottish Parliament Website
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.
I have provided the information in the attached document ‘Marine Directorate budget_spend and headcount 2015-2025’. Note that the spend figures are impacted by in-year budget movements which may lead to a difference from the original budget.
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
- File type
- File size
- 190.9 kB
- File type
- File size
- 115.6 kB
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback