FOI release

Response: International Climate Fund (ICF) committments and disbursements

Published 25 September 2024

Reference number	FOI2024-00358
Date of request	9 September 2024
Date of response	25 September 2024
Outcome	Information withheld

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) received the following request for information which we responded to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA):

An itemised list of all ICF projects overseen by DSIT for the financial years 2022/23 through to 2023/24, including the £ value from each project that was committed in each year and also the £ value that was disbursed.

For each project in each year, please also provide the project title and the project ID

If this request is not possible, please provide at a minimum:

For each financial year 2022/23 through to 2023/24, the total ICF £ value from all the projects overseen by DSIT that was committed and also the £ value that was disbursed. 

Our response

We can confirm that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (the department) does hold the information in scope of your request.

Section 22: Information intended for future publication

All of the information you have requested is exempt from disclosure and has been withheld under section 22 of the FOIA.

Section 22 states: (1) Information is exempt information if-

(a) the information is held by the public authority with a view to its publication, by the authority or any other person, at some future date (whether determined or not),

(b) the information was already held with a view to such publication at the time when the request for information was made, and

(c) it is reasonable in all the circumstances that the information should be withheld from disclosure until the date referred to in paragraph (a). The information you have requested falls into the category described in section 22(1)(a).

This is a qualified exemption, which means we must consider the public interest in withholding the information.

Case for disclosure

The department is committed to the interest of openness, transparency and government accountability under FOIA.

It is important to publish information in relation to the projects that DSIT oversees and provide the financial value of these projects to ensure that government gets the best value for money that is why this information is due to be published in 2025.

Case against disclosure

Although the department is committed to publishing the information, withholding the information until it is ready for release would allow the department to present the information for financial years 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 more clearly and accurately. Releasing the information prematurely would take considerable effort to achieve, and although this would be possible, it would not be the best use of public resources. The department has established a route for ‘low effort’ publication, which is the most efficient avenue for the department to release the information in 2025. In summary, the department does not consider it appropriate, nor in the public interest, to release information into the public domain prematurely, and in a piece-meal fashion, prior to the publication procedures having taken place. Therefore, it is in the public interest to receive accurate and up to date information, which is available for all public users.

As a result, we are withholding the information under section 22(1)(a) FOIA and will release the information in 2025.