Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) contracts: EIR release

Information requested

Please could you provide all FGS contracts either signed or pending being signed, with the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2, or any other entity associated with Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited, MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited, Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited, and True North Real Asset Partners Limited.

Please could you also state if any of these entities (the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2, Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited, MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited, Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited, and True North Real Asset Partners Limited) are engaged in any preapplication consultations, current application consultations, or any post-consultation processes, regarding any proposed woodland creation schemes (where the contract has not yet been signed) in Scotland. If so, please provide information stating specifically where these potential woodland creation sites are, the names of these sites, the specific funds and entities associated with these sites, and where applicable, the FGS reference number.

Response

As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption 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 exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

Please could you provide all FGS contracts either signed or pending being signed, with the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2, or any other entity associated with Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited, MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited, Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited, and True North Real Asset Partners Limited.

After a careful search of our systems the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund is the only entity found, and the three contracts will be sent to you by email due to their size.

A further contract, for Stobo Hope, had been in place, but this contract was reduced by the Court of Session and an Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) contract is no longer in place for this project.

Further searches show the following entities have not made any applications to the FGS:

• The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2
• Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited
• MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited
• Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited
• True North Real Asset Partners Limited

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal data relating to a third party) applies to some of the information you have requested. This information has been redacted in the documentation.

Please see Annex A for the reason this exception applies.

Please could you also state if any of these entities (the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund, the Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2, Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited, MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited, Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited, and True North Real Asset Partners Limited) are engaged in any pre-application consultations, current application consultations, or any post-consultation processes, regarding any proposed woodland creation schemes (where the contract has not yet been signed) in Scotland. If so, please provide information stating specifically where these potential woodland creation sites are, the names of these sites, the specific funds and entities associated with these sites, and where applicable, the FGS reference number.

The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund (BRN – 323379) has two FGS applications in progress:

Site Name	FGS Reference	Case Status	Specific Location
Colmslie WC	24FGS83039	Under/Action Assessment	NT500400
Breconside	19FGS37378	Draft Online	NX895669

The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund (BRN – 323379) has one woodland creation project in development (at Pre-Application stage).

Site Name	Pre-App Case Reference	Pre-App Case Status	Specific Location
Bank and Afton	WCP-139	Open	NS594105

No results were found for engagement in any pre-application consultations, current application consultations, or any post-consultation processes, regarding any proposed woodland creation schemes by the following entities:

• The Forestry Carbon Sequestration Fund 2
• Apex Fund Administration (Guernsey) Limited
• MJ Hudson Fund Services Guernsey Limited
• Saffery Champness Fund Services Limited
• True North Real Asset Partners Limited

ANNEX A

REASONS FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

Personal data relating to third party

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.

*Due to the size of the files we are unable to upload the documents referred to above.

If you wish to consider, please contact us at the address below and we will be happy to provide.

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.