Number of applicants to the Future Farming Investment Scheme: EIR release

Information requested

I am writing to request a breakdown of the number of applicants to the Future Farming Investment Scheme by postcode sector (e.g., IV1 1, IV1 2, etc). If a specific postcode sector contains so few successful applicants that they could be reasonably identified, please revise this information to be shared by Council Ward. I would also request that this data is categorised by “applicants”, “successful applicants”, “ineligible applicants”, and “total value awarded (per postcode sector/ward – remove as appropriate”)”.

I would like to request this information be shared in an Excel format if possible.

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.

Response to your request

Please find attached some of the information you requested in the format you asked for.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information (i.e. total value awarded where there were fewer than four applicants to avoid them being identified in a small population) you have requested because an exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (third party personal data) applies to some of the information requested because it is information which we consider personal information according to the definition of UK GDPR, 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.

Please note that although some postcodes are outside Scotland, this is the business’s registered address, their agricultural activity is carried out within Scotland.

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.

EIR 202600503599 - Information Released - Annex

File type

Excel document

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44.7 kB