Offshore Wind Directorate meetings regarding fuel poverty and community energy ownership: EIR release

Information requested

You asked for, “Further to the answer provided to the request under reference 202500466681, please provide details of the meetings arranged by the Offshore Wind Directorate with trade unions, organisations supporting those in fuel poverty/poverty, or groups promoting community energy ownership including the dates, attendance, and issues being discussed.”

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.

The answer to your question is as follows:

• On 9 May 2023, Scottish Government officials met with representatives from the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) Trade Union and discussed the newly established Offshore Wind Directorate.
• On 25 April 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Community Land Scotland and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 26 September 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Community Land Scotland and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 2 October 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Energy4All and discussed the subject of shared ownership of offshore wind developments.
• On 11 October 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Galson Estate Trust, Foundation Scotland, Energy4All, Community Energy Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Carloway Estate Trust, as part of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 4 November 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Galson Estate Trust, Foundation Scotland, Energy4All, Community Energy Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Carloway Estate Trust, as part of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 5 December 2024, Scottish Government officials met with Galson Estate Trust, Foundation Scotland, Energy4All, Community Energy Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Carloway Estate Trust, as part of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 17 January 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Development Trusts Association Scotland and discussed shared ownership of offshore wind.
• On 23 January 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Scottish Trades Union Congress and discussed how Scottish Government is engaging with Great British Energy and potential areas of interest for the STUC.
• On 30 January 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Galson Estate Trust, Foundation Scotland, Energy4All, Community Energy Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Carloway Estate Trust, as part of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 14 February 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Foundation Scotland and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 19 February 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Foundation Scotland as part of a subgroup of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed the Scottish Government’s consultation on community benefits from net zero energy developments.
• On 25 February 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Scottish Trades Unions Congress, as part of the Offshore Wind Skills Short Life Working Group, and discussed skills development in the offshore wind sector.
• On 19 March 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Foundation Scotland and Community Energy Scotland as part of a subgroup of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed the Scottish Government’s consultation on community benefits from net zero energy developments.
• On 25 March 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Scottish Trades Unions Congress, as part of the Offshore Wind Skills Short Life Working Group, and discussed skills development in the offshore wind sector.
• On 3 April 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Galson Estate Trust, Foundation Scotland, Energy4All, Community Energy Scotland, Local Energy Scotland, Development Trusts Association Scotland and Carloway Estate Trust, as part of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed community benefits from offshore wind.
• On 14 April 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Foundation Scotland as part of a subgroup of the Review Advisory Group on the Good Practice Principles for Community Benefits from Offshore Renewable Energy Developments, and discussed the Scottish Government’s consultation on community benefits from net zero energy developments.
• On 22 April 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Scottish Trades Unions Congress, as part of the Offshore Wind Skills Short Life Working Group, and discussed skills development in the offshore wind sector.
• On 19 May 2025, Scottish Government officials met with Scottish Trades Unions Congress, as part of the Offshore Wind Skills Short Life Working Group, and discussed skills development in the offshore wind sector.

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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.