Dear Mr MacRae,

Thank you for your request received on 26th May 2010.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is processing your request for
information in accordance with the Freedom of Information (Scotland)
Act. We will aim to respond as quickly as possible but in any event
within 20 working days from the date the enquiry was received.

In the meantime, should you have any queries please do not hesitate to get
in contact.

Kind regards,

Joanna

Joanna Smart
Information Officer
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Earl Thorfinn House
6 Druimchat View
Dingwall Business Park
Dingwall
Ross-shire
IV15 9XL

Tel: 01349 868969
Fax: 01349 868901
Email: [1][email address]

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Dear Mr MacRae,

In reply to your email, received on 26 May 2010, Highlands and Islands
Enterprise (HIE) has responded to your requests for information below.

1) For the years 2000-2009 could you give me a total amount that was
spent on consultants* fees? Could you also give that figure as a % of
total HIE revenue for that year?

+------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Financial Year |Expenditure |% of total HIE revenue |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2009/2010 |2,874,297 |4.6 |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2008/2009 |2,845,221 |4.3 |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2007/2008 |3,728,727 |3.7 |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2006/2007 |4,532,457 |4.5 |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2005/2006 |4,054,383 |4.6 |
|-----------------------+--------------------+---------------------------|
|2004/2005 |3,405,422 |3.8 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------------+

HIE has reviewed your request and consider the cost of retrieving details
of consultancy fees prior to 2004/2005 is likely to exceed the £600 limit
set by the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The reason for
this is that to retrieve details of consultancy costs prior to 2004/2005,
HIE will be required to review individual financial transactions and, if
necessary, the physical invoice/project file to determine if the
transaction is relevant to the request.

Therefore, if you were able to narrow your request by restricting the time
period this would enable us to focus our search. Alternatively, if there
were a specific consultancy firm you would like us to focus our search on,
please let me know.

Should you have any queries, or need some assistance narrowing and your
request, please do not hesitate to make contact. If you are reluctant
however to narrow your request and wish us to process your request as it
stands please let me know.

Please note that electronic copies of invoices are kept centrally from
2004/2005 and for this reason HIE is able to retrieve details of
consultancy costs after this date.

2) For the years 2000- 2009, with reference to the approvals lists,
could you give me a figure for the total amount of assistance given to
projects that are led and managed by HIE itself. Could I also get this
figure as a % of total assistance given in that year.

Details of all financial assistance approved by HIE since 2000, which will
include projects that are led and managed by the organisation, are
available on our website
([1]http://www.hie.co.uk/Default.aspx.Shortc...).
These documents should hopefully enable you to determine the percentage of
total assistance approved to projects specifically managed by HIE.

I trust you will find this information of use, but should you wish to
request any further information please do not hesitate to contact me.

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), you have the
right to request a review of the decision or any aspect of the process
with which you are dissatisfied. Should you wish to exercise that right,
you will need to contact us within 40 working days of receipt of this
email. If you remain dissatisfied on completion of the review, you have
the right to appeal to the Office of the Scottish Information
Commissioner, who can be contacted by email:
[2][email address] .

If you wish to discuss any aspects of the disclosure process or the
Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act, please do not hesitate to contact
me.

Kind regards,

Joanna

Joanna Smart
Information Officer
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Earl Thorfinn House
6 Druimchat View
Dingwall Business Park
Dingwall
Ross-shire
IV15 9XL

Tel: 01349 868969
Fax: 01349 868901
Email: [email address]

---Disclaimer---

This document is confidential and intended solely for the use of the
addressee(s). If you are not the intended recipient, please inform the
sender immediately. Any unauthorised use of this document is strictly
prohibited. HIE uses filter software to protect its staff and will
automatically delete any email that contains offensive or profane content.

Tha an teachdaireachd seo d`iomhair agus 's ann dhan neach-ainmichte
a-mh`ain a tha i. Ma 's e is gun d'fhuair sibh le mearachd i, feuchaibh is
leigibh fios sa spot dhan neach bhon t`ainig i. Tha cleachdadh
neo-cheadaichte na teachdaireachd seo f`ior-thoirmisgte. Tha HIE a'
cleachdadh bathar-bog a-chum gus luchd-obrach na buidhne a dh`ion is
cuiridh i `as do phost-dealain sam bith sa bheil c`ail oilbheumach no
truailleach.

References

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