Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund (ScotZEB3) information: EIR release

Information requested

1. Copies of the applicant eligibility and application scoring criteria and/or evaluation matrices, and all guidance and other documentation referred to and applied by the decision maker(s) when assessing and determining:

a. the eligibility of the applicants;

b. what the “minimum scoring thresholds” were and how they were arrived at;

c. the relative merits and/or scores of applications submitted by the applicants; and

d. the amounts awarded to successful applicants of ScotZEB3.

2. All reports, documents, notes and other communications (including internal decision reports, minutes of meetings, records of any moderation or panel discussions, scoring sheets and any like documents) which provide or set out comment, analysis, scores and / or conclusions in respect of McGills application and the reasons why it did not meet the “minimum scoring thresholds.”

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 answers to some of the questions you asked are provided below:

1. Copies of the applicant eligibility and application scoring criteria and/or evaluation matrices, and all guidance and other documentation referred to and applied by the decision maker(s) when assessing and determining:

a. the eligibility of the applicants;

b. what the “minimum scoring thresholds” were and how they were arrived at;

c. the relative merits and/or scores of applications submitted by the applicants; and

d. the amounts awarded to successful applicants of ScotZEB3.

Some of the information that you have requested is enclosed.

With regard to minimum scoring thresholds, applications to ScotZEB 3 were assessed using a staged process against published criteria, including financial and deliverability considerations, with scores applied and weighted to support overall assessment. As part of this process, minimum scoring expectations were applied within the financial and deliverability criteria. Applications that did not achieve these minimum scores did not progress to the subsequent stage of comparative assessment, which included subsidy ranking.

These minimum scoring expectations formed part of the internal assessment framework used to ensure that proposals taken forward demonstrated a sufficient level of financial robustness and deliverability. They were applied consistently to all applications received.

Applications progressing beyond this stage were then considered comparatively, including in relation to subsidy, with funding awarded to the highest scoring proposals within this group and within the available budget.

2. All reports, documents, notes and other communications (including internal decision reports, minutes of meetings, records of any moderation or panel discussions, scoring sheets and any like documents) which provide or set out comment, analysis, scores and / or conclusions in respect of the applications that were awarded grants under ScotZEB3 and in respect of our client’s application.

Some of the information that you have requested is enclosed. 

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested relating to questions 1 and 2 because an exception(s) under regulation(s) 10(4)(e) (Internal communications),10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information), 10(5)(f) Interests of the person who provided the information and 11(2) personal data of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception(s) applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.

Annex to the Standard Response- Reasons for not providing information

An exception applies

An exception under Regulation 10(4)(e) – Internal communications of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This includes internal evaluation and scoring guidance, and a submission to Ministers relating to the assessment of applications and final funding award recommendations.

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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because there is public interest in transparency and accountability for the use of public funds and that disclosure would contribute to public understanding of the decision-making process. However, we consider that this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the integrity of the assessment process. Disclosure of internal evaluation guidance and scoring methodologies could prejudice future funding rounds by enabling applicants to tailor bids to internal assessment approaches and thresholds, rather than policy objectives. This would undermine the fairness and robust nature of the process and could result in commercial harm. In addition, the submission to Ministers forms part of internal deliberative processes, disclosure would inhibit free and frank advice and undermine the assessment process.

An exception under Regulation 10(5)(e) – Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This includes evaluation scoresheets.

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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because disclosure would promote transparency and accountability in relation to the assessment of applications and the allocation of public funds and would help the public understand how decisions were reached. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in maintaining the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information provided by applicants. Disclosure would be likely to substantially prejudice the confidentiality of commercial interests of those businesses by revealing information such as financial details, business strategies and other sensitive material, and would be likely to discourage full and open engagement with future funding opportunities. There is a strong public interest in ensuring that public authorities can administer live funding schemes effectively and that applicants are able to provide information in confidence to support robust funding decisions. This includes where such information is reflected in evaluation scoresheets as part of the decision-making process.

An exception under Regulation 10(5)(f) – Interests of the person who provided the information of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested. This includes information provided voluntarily by third parties as part of, or in support of, funding applications and the associated assessment process. 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. We recognise that there is some public interest in release because disclosure would promote transparency and accountability in relation to the assessment of applications and the allocation of public funds and would help the public understand how decisions were reached. However, this is outweighed by the public interest in protecting the legitimate interests of third parties who supplied the information voluntarily. Disclosure would be likely to substantially prejudice the commercial interest of those third parties and would be likely to discourage third parties from providing full and candid supporting information in future schemes. This exception applies specifically to information supplied voluntarily by third parties and does not rely solely on the commercial sensitivity of the information, which is addressed separately under regulation 10(5)(e).

An exception under Regulation 11(2) – Personal data of the EIRs applies to some of the information you have requested as it constitutes personal data of third parties who are not senior decision makers. Disclosure of this information would contravene the data protection principles set out in the UK GDPR, in particular the requirement for processing to be fair and lawful. We therefore consider that this information is exempt from disclosure.

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 202600514970 - Information Released - Annex

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