Covid 19 grants or loans to 3rd party organisations
Dear North Lanarkshire Council,
Please supply details of every 3rd party organisation that has received financial support from the council, to date, in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. For the avoidance of doubt, this means any Covid-19 related payment from January 24th 2020.
Such support could take the form of grants, loans or waived fees or taxes.
Please provide me with the following details for each organisation supported:
1. The name, address, and registration number, if known, of the organisation supported.
2. The value of the support provided, the nature of the support (grant, loan etc), the date payment was made.
3. The name of the funding scheme or funding stream that the organisation qualified for.
To be clear, I do not seek personal information, or information on financial support provided to individuals. Therefore, data protection concerns should not mitigate against providing this information.
I would prefer not to receive the requested information in pdf format files. Please supply the requested information in a machine readable format file, such as MS Excel or CSV format files.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Ally Tibbitt
Dear Sir/madam
I acknowledge receipt of your request which is receiving attention.
I shall contact you again when I am in a position to respond more fully to your request.
Yours sincerely
Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Working from home
Please contact via email
Dear Sir/Madam
Request for Information
I refer again to your e-mail of 14 November 2020 seeking the name,
address, registration number and amount paid in grants or loans to third
party organisations.
Having investigated, I regret to advise you that the provision of such
detailed information would enable the submission of fraudulent claims for
grants. Accordingly, I regret to advise that the information sought is
exempt from release in terms of the following sections of the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
Section 35(1) – information is exempt information if its disclosure under
this Act would, or would be likely to, prejudice substantially – (a) the
prevention or detection of crime.
Section 30 – information is exempt information if its disclosure under
this Act (c) would otherwise prejudice substantially, or be likely to
prejudice substantially, the effective conduct of public affairs.
I am sorry I cannot be more helpful on this occasion.
I can advise that North Lanarkshire Council, having regard to the
provisions of Section 21 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act
2002, has established a procedure whereby any person who has requested
information and is in any way dissatisfied with the decision on that
request, can within forty working days require a review of that decision
by writing to the Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions, Civic Centre,
Windmillhill Street, Motherwell ML1 1AB. Accordingly, if you are
dissatisfied with this decision and seek such review please write to the
Head of Legal and Democratic Solutions.
I would advise, also, that in terms of Section 47 of the Act a person who
is dissatisfied with a notice given by the local authority under Section
21 of the Act - ie. a notice following a review of a decision by a local
authority, or by the failure of a local authority to give such a notice -
may make application to the Scottish Information Commissioner for a
decision as to whether, in any respect specified in that application, the
request for information to which the requirement relates has been dealt
with in accordance with the Act. Such an application must be made within
six months of the review decision and be in writing or in another form
which, by reason of it having some permanency is capable of being used for
subsequent reference. The application must state the name of the
applicant, and provide an address for correspondence. The application must
also specify the request for information to which the requirement for
review relates, the matter which gave rise to the applicant’s
dissatisfaction with the original decision of the local authority and the
matter which gives rise to the applicant’s dissatisfaction with the
decision on review by the local authority or the failure of the local
authority to issue such a decision. The Scottish Information Commissioner
can be contacted as follows:-
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St. Andrews
KY16 9DS
email: [1][email address]
Appeals to the Scottish Information Commissioner can also be made online
via the following link: -
[2]www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal
I hope this information is sufficient for your purpose. If, however, you
require further information – or I can assist in any other way – please
let me know.
Yours faithfully
Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Working from home
Please contact via Email
Dear North Lanarkshire Council,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of North Lanarkshire Council's handling of my FOI request 'Covid 19 grants or loans to 3rd party organisations'.
I would make the following observations:
1. Both exemptions of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act that the council has used to justify witholding the requested information are subject to the public interest test. There is clearly a very strong public interest in providing transparency and accountability about the use of public funds associated with the Covid-19 Pandemic response. This public interest should mitigate against any attempt to restrict timely publication of this information.
2. It is not clear why providing information on financial support already provided by the council would hinder attempts to tackle fraud or promote criminality to date, nor why it would hinder public administration. Indeed, I note that some public bodies are pro-actively publishing details of the Covid-19 grants they provide to businesses and third parties.
I look forward to hearing from you in due course.
Yours faithfully,
Ally Tibbitt
Dear Sir/madam
I acknowledge receipt of your email and can advise that I have passed your correspondence to the Council's Legal Manager to arrange for a Review of the Response to your Freedom of Information Request.
You will be contacted again when the Council is in a position to respond more fully to your request for Review.
Yours sincerely
Angelene Kirkpatrick
For Freedom of Information Co-ordinator
North Lanarkshire Council
Civic Centre
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Working from home
Please contact via email
*SENT ON BEHALF OF CAREEN HENDRY, LEGAL MANAGER*
Dear Mr. Tibbitt,
Request for Review – FOI Request for information on Covid 19 Business
Grants or Loans
I am emailing in respect of the above and refer to your email dated 14
December 2020 seeking a review of the Council’s original response to your
FOI request, attached.
Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to provide a response today and
apologise for the delay. Your request for review is being actively
progressed and I hope to be in a position to issue a formal response by
the end of next week.
I will respond to your request as soon as I can. Please accept my
apologies in the meantime.
Regards,
Andrew Neilson
Solicitor
Regulation and Governance
Legal and Democratic Solutions
North Lanarkshire Council
Windmillhill Street
Motherwell
ML1 1AB
Email: [email address]
Please note I am currently working from home
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North Lanarkshire Council's Web Site -
http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/
Dear Mr Tibbitt,
Please find attached a response to your FOI review request dated 14
December 2020.
Yours sincerely,
Colette Cameron
Solicitor (Commercial & Compliance)
Legal & Democratic Solutions
North Lanarkshire Council
(Please note that I am currently working from home at present and e-mail
is the preferred method of contact)
[1][email address]
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North Lanarkshire Council's Web Site -
http://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/
References
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