Project Monitoring: 'The Hold: A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century' (Part 3)
Dear The National Lottery Heritage Fund
As per your response to my request for an Internal Review* of my previous request — titled 'Project Monitoring: 'The Hold: A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century' (Part 2)', dated 15 October 2022 — I request here the remainder of the information you hold in this same regard. Including : –
• Progress Report 12 and all associated documentation (including the Payment Request forms);
• the same for any further progress returns received passed those included in your last response – i.e. those beyond Progress Report 15 (January-March 2022);
• and all such further documentation as set out in my previous request – re. 'all such other information that may relate to the general monitoring and oversight of this funding award as a whole as it now reaches its final stages (e.g. any interim and/or final evaluation reports, financial reports or such like; any staff, user, and/or visitor surveys, etc.)'.
Yours faithfully
Susan Meadows (Mrs)
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request to the National Heritage
Memorial Fund/ National Lottery Heritage Fund.
We are currently processing your request and will endeavour to respond
within 20 working days. However, due to Covid-19 and the current climate
we may be delayed in responding to you. Thank you in advance for your
patience with this and we will of course keep you updated if your request
is delayed.
Many thanks,
FOI Team
For further guidance regarding Freedom of Information and Covid-19 please
see the ICO's blog.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Telephone no: 0207 591 6000
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Dear Mrs Meadows,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request on 18 February 2023.
Our team are currently progressing your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). A public body has up to 20 working days to respond, this excludes UK bank holidays, and you should expect our response by 17 March.
Best wishes,
FOI Team
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our main telephone number: 0207 591 6000
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Dear Mrs Susan Meadows,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request on 18 February 2023 in which you requested to see information on "The Hold": A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century project.
1. Progress Report 12 and all associated documentation (including the Payment Request forms);
Please find attached the Progress Report 12 documentation.
Please be aware that there are instances of redaction within the documents which have been made under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act – Personal Information. This exemption allows a public body to withhold information that could be considered personal to an individual. In line with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act, a public body has a duty to protect personal information that it holds.
There are also instances of redaction within these documents which have been made under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act - Commercial Interests. This exemption allows us to decline a request for information if disclosure of which would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person or organisation. This is what’s known as a qualified exemption. It is subject to a public interest test, which I have set out below. Overall we have concluded that the arguments against disclosure outweigh those in favour.
The following redactions have been made under Section 43(2):
Progress Report 12 - Pages 6, 14, 18, 20 to 22
Payment Request 12 - Pages 3 to 7
Approved Purposes update - Page 2 section B
Public Interest Test - Section 43(2)
Factors in favour of disclosure
• Disclosing the information requested would enhance transparency and accountability.
• As a publicly funded organisation, the public has a legitimate interest in The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s activities and disclosure would increase public awareness about the work of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and its grantees.
Factors against disclosure
• It is not in the interest of the grantee or The National Lottery Heritage Fund to release this information as it is likely to be prejudicial to the grantee’s future business, limiting their ability to competitively procure future contracts.
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund does not consider the disclosure of this information, which could affect the grantee’s ability to negotiate future contracts and secure value for money, to be in the public’s best interest.
2. the same for any further progress returns received passed those included in your last response – i.e. those beyond Progress Report 15 (January-March 2022);
At the time of your request (18 February 2023) no further reports were held by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
3. and all such further documentation as set out in my previous request – re. 'all such other information that may relate to the general monitoring and oversight of this funding award as a whole as it now reaches its final stages (e.g. any interim and/or final evaluation reports, financial reports or such like; any staff, user, and/or visitor surveys, etc.)'.
Please find attached a letter detailing the grant expiry date change.
Please be aware that there are instances of redaction within the document which have been made under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act – Personal Information.
I hope you find this information useful but if you do have any other questions please do let me know. If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to request an internal review of our decision please contact [email address]. Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. If you were then not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Best wishes,
Georgia
FOI Team
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our main telephone number: 0207 591 6000
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Dear The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of The National Lottery Heritage Fund's handling of my FOI request 'Project Monitoring: 'The Hold: A Suffolk Archives Service for the 21st Century' (Part 3)'.
Many thanks for the further information provided in response to my request. However, I would be grateful if you could explain in more detail why no further 'reports' (or any associated documentation) were – at the time of my request – held by yourselves past Progress Report 15 (January-March 2022)? And, indeed, why these had not been received by yourselves from the grantee in as timely a manner as were earlier returns?
Needless to say, if these documents have since been received by yourselves from the grantee then I would be very grateful if they were to be supplied in your response to this request for an internal review.
Furthermore. Since the grant expiry date (as amended) has now passed, I would be grateful for a much fuller response to part '3' of my request – re. 'all such further documentation...' . And for you to set out which of this information you have 'since' received from the grantee, and which you still expect to receive under the terms of grant.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/p...
Yours faithfully
Susan Meadows (Mrs)
Dear The National Lottery Heritage Fund
I would be very grateful if you could acknowledge receipt of my request for an internal review sent on 3 May 2023.
Many thanks,
Yours faithfully
Susan Meadows (Mrs)
Dear Susan Meadows,
Thank you for your request for an internal review on the 3 May 2023.
We have received your request and our team are currently progressing your request. Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) a public body has up to 20 working days to respond, this excludes UK bank holidays, and you should expect our response by the 2 June 2023.
Best Wishes,
FOI Team
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our main telephone number: 0207 591 6000
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Dear Mrs Susan Meadows,
Thank you for your request for an Internal Review on 3 May 2023.
Internal Review
In your request you asked for further information on why no further reports, after report 15, were held at the time of your request on 18 February 2023. While project activity was completed by the November Grant Expiry Date, the grantee requested a short extension to complete financial reporting and the final evaluation report. We therefore extended the Grant Expiry Date to 31 March 2023 and all outstanding paperwork was submitted to us by this date.
I now consider this internal review to be completed. Please be aware that if you are not content with the outcome of the review, you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Freedom of Information Request
In your email you also requested to see further documentation relating to the monitoring of The Hold project. We have processed this request as a Freedom of Information request. Please find attached the documents listed below. These were received after your February 2023 FOI request and relate to the monitoring and oversight of the project.
1. Progress Report October 2022-February 2023
2. Summary of Approved Purposes
3. Risk Register updated March 2022
4. Evaluation Report
Please be aware that there are instances of redaction within the documents which have been made under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act - Personal Information. This exemption allows a public body to withhold information that could be considered personal to an individual. In line with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act, a public body has a duty to protect personal information that it holds.
There are instances of redaction within the Evaluation Report, at pages 11, 127, 129, 137, 139, 141, 142 and 143, which have been made under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act - Commercial Interests. This exemption allows us to decline a request for information if disclosure of which would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person or organisation. This is what's known as a qualified exemption. It is subject to a public interest test, which I have set below. Overall we have concluded that the arguments against disclosure outweigh those in favour.
Public Interest Test
Factors in favour of disclosure
* Disclosing the information requested would enhance transparency and accountability.
* As a publicly funded organisation, the public has a legitimate interest in The National Lottery Heritage Fund's activities and disclosure would increase public awareness about the work of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and its grantees.
Factors against disclosure
* It is not in the interests of the grantee, the public or The National Lottery Heritage Fund to release this information about project partnerships at this time. Releasing this information could affect the future sustainability of The Hold, jeopardising the public's access to the facility and the investment made.
Additionally, after looking through our systems and records we have been unable to locate the forms for payment requests and progress reports 16 and 17. These were received from the grantee at the end of February but following an update to our grant information system we are currently unable to retrieve the forms. We are working on this and will provide these to you as soon as possible.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to request an internal review of our decision please contact [email address]. Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. If you were then not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner's Office ( https://ico.org.uk/).
Kind regards,
Georgia
FOI Team
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our main telephone number: 0207 591 6000
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
Dear Mrs Meadows,
Further to my email of 2 June 2023, please find attached the payment request 16 form and the completion report and final progress request form.
We are only able to provide a draft copy of payment request 16, and were unable to locate the final version following the update to our grant information system. Please be aware as this is not the final version it does contain some errors and these were corrected by the grantee when they submitted the final version to us.
Please be aware that there are instances of redaction within the documents which have been made under Section 40 of the Freedom of Information Act – Personal Information. This exemption allows a public body to withhold information that could be considered personal to an individual. In line with the principles set out in the Data Protection Act, a public body has a duty to protect personal information that it holds.
There are also instances of redaction within these documents which have been made under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act - Commercial Interests. This exemption allows us to decline a request for information if disclosure of which would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any person or organisation. This is what’s known as a qualified exemption. It is subject to a public interest test, which I have set out below. Overall we have concluded that the arguments against disclosure outweigh those in favour.
The following redactions have been made under Section 43(2):
Payment request 16 : Pages 3, 4,7-10 ‘Total of invoice (excluding VAT)’ and ‘Total cost claiming £’ columns.
Completion report and final progress request:
Page 4, Page 5,
Pages 7-11, 17- 28 ‘Total of invoice (excluding VAT)’ and ‘Total cost claiming £’ columns.
Page 12, 16 and 18 ‘Total of invoice (excluding VAT)’, ‘Value of agreed costs (if different from total) excluding VAT £’ and ‘Total cost claiming £’ columns.
PUBLIC INTEREST TEST - Section 43(2)
Factors in favour of disclosure
• Disclosing the information requested would enhance transparency and accountability.
• As a publicly funded organisation, the public has a legitimate interest in The National Lottery Heritage Fund’s activities and disclosure would increase public awareness about the work of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and its grantees.
Factors against disclosure
• It is not in the interest of the grantee or The National Lottery Heritage Fund to release this information as it is likely to be prejudicial to the grantee’s future business, limiting their ability to competitively procure future contracts.
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund does not consider the disclosure of this information, which could affect the grantee’s ability to negotiate future contracts and secure value for money, to be in the public’s best interest.
• To release third party information will potentially be detrimental to Suffolk County Council’s commercial relationships and could have a detrimental impact on, and limit, the potential outcome of the Council’s future tenders.
If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to request an internal review of our decision please contact [email address]. Internal review requests should be made within 40 working days of the initial response. If you were then not content with the outcome of the internal review you have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner’s Office ( https://ico.org.uk/).
Kind regards,
Georgia
FOI Team
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
Our main telephone number: 0207 591 6000
Website: heritagefund.org.uk
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
#NationalLotteryHeritageFund
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