Invest to Save Fund applications and queries: FOI release

Information requested

1. I would like to request information on applications made to the Invest To Save fund. How many applications have been made since the fund's inception and could I please see a list of the departments and agencies/bodies that have made requests? I would also like to see a separate list of requests that have been granted. I don't need to see the full documents - the name of the department/agency/body and the subject of the request is enough if a deep dive would prove too costly.

2. How many requests mention Artificial Intelligence or AI and which of these requests have been granted funding?

3. What is the criteria required to be eligible for this fund?

4. What is the upper time limit of expected savings from this fund? For example, does the Scottish Government expect to see savings achieved within 10, 20, 50 years or longer?

Response

In response to request I enclose some of the information you requested.

41 bids were received from the following departments agencies and bodies. Some submitted multiple bids.

• Aberdeen City Council
• Clackmannanshire council
• Clacks and Falkirk Council
• Colleges Scotland
• Combined Councils bid
• Dumfries and Galloway Council
• Education Scotland (2)
• Food standard Scotland
• Glasgow City Council
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Perth and Kinross Council (6)
• Scottish Enterprise
• SG Directorate for Justice (5)
• SG Directorate for Children and Families
• Scottish Canals
• South of Scotland Enterprise
• Scottish Funding Council
• SG DG Economy
• SEPA
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service
• Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
• SG DG Corporate (3)
• SG DG Health and Social Care (2)
• SG Directorate for Environment and Forestry (5)

In regard to funding 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 exemptions 17 - Information not held of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why this exemption applies is because a final decision on which bids to fund has not been agreed. This information will be published when this decision has been made.

Three bids mention Artificial Intelligence or AI. In regard to which bids have been funded while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the information you have requested because exemptions 17 - Information not held of FOISA applies to that information. The reasons why this exemption applies is because a final decision on which bids to fund has not been agreed. This information will be published when this decision has been made.

The fund should explicitly focus on delivering savings within national and local government and public bodies. The fund is primarily about realising savings against projected future expenditure in the near term. Funding decisions will be based predominantly on return on investment (ROI) in the near term.

The fund aim is to achieve savings within 18 to 24 months of projects being funded. However realistically most projects won’t deliver savings until year 3 or 4.

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.