Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture
121 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 100.0%
The Freedom of Information requests to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) reveal an authority that is selectively transparent, often releasing historical or aggregate data while vigorously protecting current operational details, enforcement identities, and policy formulations. A clear pattern emerges regarding financial accountability: while the department disclosed a comprehensive list of 346 farmer payments for 2015 (355013), subsequent requests for similar granular data were frequently blocked as 'repeated' (914723) or redirected to public websites (462340). This suggests a reluctance to provide real-time financial scrutiny of agricultural subsidies, even as significant public funds, such as the £500,000 in meat plant subventions (355069), are acknowledged.
Key Cases
Case 355013 — A rare instance of full transparency where the department disclosed a list of 346 individual farmer payment amounts for 2015, setting a benchmark for financial openness that was not consistently maintained in later years.
Case 675466 — The release of the full 53-page investigation report into the Snaefell Mountain Railway runaway tram incident, overturning a previous refusal (563738) and demonstrating that safety data is eventually accessible once legal proceedings conclude.
Case 355047 — A complete refusal to disclose details of a planning enforcement complaint on Kella Road, citing confidential information and ongoing investigations, highlighting the department's strict protection of enforcement processes from public view.
Case 355057 — The withholding of heavy metal analysis and leachate results for Peel Marina under 'policy formulation' exemptions, raising concerns about the transparency of environmental risk assessments and waste management data.
Case 355035 — A request regarding Lorne House was deemed 'vexatious' after partial fulfillment, illustrating the department's use of resource burden arguments to halt persistent inquiries into specific planning or housing issues.
Related FOI Stories
The Meat Plant Saga: Funding, Tenders, and Safety — #355069, #355075, #355099, #355087, #625866
Planning Enforcement and Whistleblower Protection — #355047, #355079, #361141, #856665, #922953
Environmental Data: Leachate, Dredging, and Water Quality — #355045, #355057, #500235, #935114, #1165449
Agricultural Subsidies and Farmer Payments — #355013, #355063, #462340, #914723, #973789
Safety Incidents: Railways and Transport — #355051, #563738, #675466, #682066
| Date | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-07-17 | Habitation Certificates for New Build Properties | All information sent |
| The requester asked for statistics on Habitation Certificates and air tightness tests for new builds over the last two years. The authority clarified that it issues Completion Certificates instead of Habitation Certificates and provided the specific counts for both metrics. | ||
| 2018-06-25 | School food hygiene reports | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the most recent food hygiene reports for the Isle of Man's five secondary schools, but the authority explained that reports are only generated when issues are found and only one report from 2012 was disclosed. | ||
| 2018-04-06 | Climate change mitigation strategy report | All information sent |
| The requester asked for an explanation of the 'Other' category in greenhouse gas emissions data and access to the full Aether Ltd report or alternative reports since 2015. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture explained that 'Other' is an aggregate of sources like aviation and fluorinated gases, and provided four redacted inventory documents covering 1990-2016 instead of a full unredacted report. | ||
| 2018-03-27 | Unpublished FOI requests | All information sent |
| The requester asked for monthly statistics on Freedom of Information requests received, refused, answered, and published by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture over the last 12 months. The authority provided aggregate totals for the period but stated it could not supply monthly breakdowns as the data is not held in that format. | ||
| 2018-03-15 | Appeal request for 16/01131/REM | All information sent |
| The requester sought the reasons for and identity of the appellant regarding planning application 16/01131/REM, which were not visible online. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed that a hard copy appeal letter was filed and subsequently uploaded to the online system, providing a link to access the information. | ||
| 2017-12-08 | Meat Plant - successful proposal & tender process costs | All information sent |
| The requester asked for the successful proposal and tender costs for the Isle of Man Meat Plant, but the authority disclosed that the tender was cancelled and no winning proposal exists. The only costs provided were for advertising the Prior Information Notice, totaling £609.60, as officer time was covered by daily duties. | ||
| 2017-10-31 | Scaffolding in stream | All information sent |
| The requester sought information regarding an alleged enquiry by the Department of Fisheries to Manx Utilities about scaffolding in a stream near their home. The Department confirmed no such enquiry occurred, clarifying that communications were actually regarding drainage pipe discharges and flood risk management works on the opposite bank. | ||
| 2017-10-20 | SKANCO Palm trees | All information sent |
| The requester asked for details regarding a tree felling authorization for SKANCO at Spring Valley to remove two mature palm trees. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed the application and the licence decision, noting a typographical error in the licence date. | ||
| 2017-10-19 | ADS acreage rate and Meat Plant tender | All information sent |
| A request was made regarding the ADS acreage rate and a Meat Plant tender, to which the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture responded by sending all requested information. | ||
| 2017-10-15 | Chatham House Environment Conference costs | All information sent |
| The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed the full breakdown of costs and attendee list for the 2017 Chatham House Environment Conference, along with the strategic benefits of participation for the Isle of Man's climate policy. | ||
| 2017-10-10 | Meat Plant Tender and Costs | All information sent |
| The request sought details on the meat plant tender outcome and subvention payments made by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. The authority disclosed that the tender decision was pending after presentations and confirmed £500,000 in payments were made since April 2017. | ||
| 2017-10-09 | Castlemona Hotel - Registered Building Inspections | All information sent |
| A request was made for inspection reports of the Castlemona Hotel under Registration of Buildings legislation, to which the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture disclosed a list of site visits and available reports while noting that hard copy files were temporarily inaccessible due to renovations. | ||
| 2017-09-28 | Agricultural occupancy conditions | All information sent |
| The requester asked for statistics on breaches and enforcement actions regarding 266 planning approvals with agricultural occupancy conditions. The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture explained that the 266 figure could not be accurately mapped to specific addresses but disclosed 11 alleged breach investigations and details on subsequent regularization applications. | ||
| 2017-09-28 | Development of tourist accomodation - Glamping | All information sent |
| A Freedom of Information request asked the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture for data on meetings and site identifications regarding glamping development between 2014 and 2017. The authority disclosed that while no specific ministerial meeting records were found, department officers held 30 meetings, approximately 21 sites were identified for potential development, and 3 sites were actively scoped during the specified period. | ||
| 2017-08-29 | EfW Plant and RHCC | All information sent |
| The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture responded to a request for the Energy from Waste Plant licence, subsequent amendments, and minutes regarding the cessation of the Richmond Hill Consultative Committee. All requested information was disclosed, though some personal data within the documents was redacted under data protection laws. | ||
| 2017-08-27 | Peel Silt Analysis | All information sent |
| A request for details on Peel Marina dredging and Raggatt Leachate disposal was partially answered, with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture stating it does not hold specific operational data for most questions. Information regarding heavy metal analysis and leachate results was withheld under exemptions related to the ongoing formulation of government policy. | ||
| 2017-08-07 | Heritage Railway Safety Incidents | All information sent |
| The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture responded to a request for safety incident details regarding Isle of Man Heritage Railways since October 2011, disclosing three specific incidents and identifying the vehicle involved in a brake failure. | ||
| 2017-06-01 | Agricultural occupancy conditions | All information sent |
| 2017-04-25 | Turkeyland Waste Licence | All information sent |
| A request was made to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture regarding the Turkeyland Waste Licence. The authority responded by sending all requested information, consisting of 33 pages across one document. | ||
| 2017-03-23 | Broomfield Cottage Planning Enforcement | All information sent |
| 2017-01-30 | Farmer Payments | All information sent |
| A Freedom of Information request was made to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture regarding farmer payments, resulting in the full disclosure of a list of 346 individual payment amounts for the year 2015. | ||