FOI2023/00202: Transactions over £25,000 from January 2023
Case reference FOI2023/00202
Published 16 May 2023
Request
Request received: 14 April 2023
Thank you for publishing your spend data here: https://www.ukri.org/about-us/innovate-uk/our-publications/innovate-uk-publications-2021/#contents-list
However, I notice that you haven't published any spending data since December 2022.
We understand that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it may not have been a priority to publish your spending data. However, we strongly believe that the spending data is critical to understanding how Government functions and this data is vital for our work. We would be extremely grateful if you could update this information as soon as reasonably possible.
I'd like to make a request under the Freedom of Information act for all transactions over £25,000 from January to a month in arrears from the date at which you publish in response to this request.
Please provide the data in a machine-readable format (preferably csv). As a minimum, please make sure to include the date, value and recipient of each transaction. Please also provide details on the procurement category of each transaction if you have it.
Response
Response sent: 16 May 2023
I can confirm that UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) hold information relevant to your request. Please see the information below.
Innovate UK no longer publish their spending data separately, as this is now incorporated into the UKRI Financial Transparency Data.
Under Section 21 - Information already reasonably accessible, of the FOIA the information you have requested for January and February 2023 is already available in the public domain:
https://www.ukri.org/publications/financial-transparency-data-all-transactions-2023/
Section 21 is an absolute exemption which means that there is no requirement to conduct a public interest test.
The information you have requested for March 2023 onwards is exempt from disclosure under Section 22(1) of the FOIA as it is intended for future publication. Section 22 is a qualified exemption meaning that it is subject to the public interest test.
UKRI understand that being transparent in regard to our financial expenditure is in the public interest. However, we consider that premature release would give a misleading impression of UKRI's spending and would put undue pressure on UKRI to publish outside of its scheduled timeframes.
We have therefore determined that the outcome of this test is that the public interest is insufficient to justify immediate disclosure. This information is typically published monthly and is 2 months in arrears, so information for March 2023 is expected to be published shortly to the link provided above.
(Full details of the response are provided in the attached document)
Documents
This is UK Research and Innovation's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.