Department of Infrastructure
22 FOI requests | Full disclosure rate: 2050.0%
The Freedom of Information requests to the Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure reveal an authority that is selectively transparent, often prioritizing commercial confidentiality and administrative convenience over public scrutiny. A recurring theme is the 'black box' nature of major transport procurement; while the Department readily discloses the existence of projects like the Douglas Promenade or the purchase of Mercedes buses, it consistently withholds specific financial figures, citing commercial sensitivity (Cases 355921, 361167). Furthermore, the Department frequently relies on the 'information not held' exemption to avoid answering questions about specific costs for major events like the TT (Case 355883) or historical road adoptions (Case 355761), suggesting significant gaps in data retention and financial granularity.
Key Cases
Case 355857 — This case marks a critical turning point where the Department invoked the 'vexatious' exemption to block a series of requests regarding the Douglas Promenade and steam locomotives. It highlights the tension between persistent public scrutiny and the administrative burden, effectively shutting down a line of inquiry that had previously yielded partial results.
Case 355921 — A significant disclosure regarding the procurement of Mercedes buses, where the Department explicitly cited commercial sensitivity to withhold pricing and contract details. This case exemplifies the 'black box' nature of major transport spending, where the public knows buses were bought but not the specific financial terms.
Case 449033 — This case is notable for being 'Upheld - partial' following an internal review. The Information Commissioner found the Department had incorrectly applied a 'not held' exemption to the ZipTrip app costs, forcing a re-processing. It serves as a rare instance of the Department's initial refusal being challenged and corrected, revealing hidden financial data.
Case 355883 — The refusal to provide specific costs for TT (Tourist Trophy) road repairs, claiming they are not recorded separately from normal activities. Given the TT is the island's most significant economic event, the inability to isolate its infrastructure costs raises questions about financial accountability for major events.
Case 358461 — The complete withholding of information regarding a 2013 electric shock incident on the Manx Electric Railway due to 'ongoing legal proceedings.' This case underscores how legal risk is used as a blanket exemption to prevent the public from understanding the safety history of heritage transport.
Related FOI Stories
The Douglas Promenade: From Transparency to Vexatious Refusal — #355795, #355857, #355859, #355861, #355863
Commercial Secrecy in Transport Procurement — #355763, #355921, #361167, #355893, #356129
Data Gaps and 'Not Held' Defenses — #355761, #355773, #355883, #355895, #361191
Safety Incidents and Legal Exemptions — #358443, #358461, #355863, #355921, #548540
Housing and Social Welfare Opacity — #355805, #358449, #358451, #355925, #647165
| Date | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-10-07 | Request electrical substation information | Not required to fulfill request |
| 2024-12-19 | Driving Licence Alignment to UK | Not required to fulfill request |
| 2024-12-03 | Harbour Dues , Houseboat dues and boat park fees | Not required to fulfill request |
| 2024-10-01 | Bus usage figures | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request for average passenger numbers per journey for all Bus Vannin routes for 2019, 2020, and 2023 was refused by the Department of Infrastructure. The authority determined that compiling the data would require approximately 1600 working hours, exceeding the limits of the Freedom of Information Act 2015. | ||
| 2024-09-26 | Copy of minute meetings & attendance lists for Airport Shadow board me | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request was made for minutes and attendance lists of the Airport Shadow Board meetings from late 2023 to mid-2024, to which the Department of Infrastructure responded by providing redacted copies of the documents despite an initial outcome classification of 'Not required to fulfill request'. | ||
| 2024-07-31 | Driving Licence Applications - New Residents | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester asked for statistics on driving licence exchanges from non-Isle of Man countries for 2022-2024, including refusals and processing times by country. The Department of Infrastructure refused to provide the detailed breakdown and processing times, citing that the data is not held in the requested format and compiling it would require substantial analysis not mandated by the FOI Act. | ||
| 2024-06-18 | Fixed Penalty Notice **REDACTED** | Not required to fulfill request |
| The applicant requested evidence including photographs and emails regarding a disputed parking fine, but the Department of Infrastructure refused the request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 because the information constitutes absolutely exempt personal data. | ||
| 2022-10-17 | Land and properties owned in Peel | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester asked for a list of properties and land owned by the Department of Infrastructure in specific areas of Peel. The Department refused to fulfill the request, stating the information is already publicly available via the Land Registry. | ||
| 2022-10-06 | Land and property within government and all departments ownership | Not required to fulfill request |
| 2021-10-13 | Location of disabled parking places in Douglas | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request was made for a comprehensive list of disabled parking bays in Douglas, including locations and time restrictions, excluding reserved bays. The Department of Infrastructure responded with a detailed table listing specific street locations, side of the road, and operating hours for numerous bays, despite the metadata indicating the request was not required to be fulfilled. | ||
| 2020-03-02 | COST, USAGE AND REVENUE OF CONNECT VILLAGES AND CONNECT PORTS SERVICES | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester sought detailed cost, usage, and revenue data for Connect Villages and Connect Ports services, but the Department of Infrastructure stated it was not required to fulfill the request due to internal budgeting policies that prevent isolating specific service costs. The authority did disclose approximate minibus purchase costs and fleet replacement figures from a previous 2019 request, noting that minibuses are used for multiple services and costs are aggregated. | ||
| 2020-02-24 | HumajnWaste,and,Silt,disposal | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester submitted a statement regarding the disposal of human waste and silt for agricultural use, but the Department of Infrastructure determined it was not a valid request for information held. Consequently, the authority was not required to fulfill the request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015. | ||
| 2018-09-13 | MVR4 Duplicate Registration Certificate missue | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester asked for statistics on duplicate vehicle registration certificates issued to incorrect addresses or without signatures between 2016 and 2018 due to suspected fraud. The Department of Infrastructure refused the request, stating that manually compiling the data from 85,000 transactions would exceed the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act 2015. | ||
| 2018-07-16 | Registration numbers sold by IOM Government | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester asked for statistics on car registration numbers sold by the Isle of Man Department of Infrastructure under variable rates, including pre-system data. The authority refused the request, stating that compiling the data would require substantial manual work and that information prior to October 2011 is not held in a retrievable format. | ||
| 2018-04-27 | Expenditure on single use plastics within the department | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request was made for expenditure figures on single-use plastics within the Department of Infrastructure, but the authority refused to fulfill it because the data is not recorded individually and would require substantial compilation. | ||
| 2017-12-31 | Cherished numbers | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request for data on cherished number registrations was refused by the Department of Infrastructure because the information held by the IOM Post Office requires substantial collation and analysis to answer. The authority directed the requester to submit the same query directly to the IOM Post Office. | ||
| 2017-12-04 | Changes to planes and boats | Not required to fulfill request |
| The requester asked for charges levied by the Isle of Man government on commercial planes and boats for the 2015/2016 and 2016/2017 financial years. The Department of Infrastructure refused to fulfill the request because the applicant failed to respond to clarification emails within the required 28-day timescale. | ||
| 2017-08-14 | TT Costs | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request was made to the Department of Infrastructure for specific costs related to 2017 TT road repairs, signage, bollards, and staffing. The authority refused to provide the information, stating that repair costs were not recorded separately from normal activities and that compiling the data would require substantial analysis. | ||
| 2017-08-07 | Electric tram incidents | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request was made for safety incident details and investigation findings for Isle of Man heritage railways from 2011, along with the identity of a specific Snaefell car involved in a brake failure. The Department of Infrastructure responded that it was not required to fulfill the request in full because it did not manage the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway until April 2016 and lacked data for July and August 2017. | ||
| 2017-08-04 | Electric tram maintenance | Not required to fulfill request |
| A request for electric tram maintenance schedules and specific parts costs was partially refused by the Department of Infrastructure due to ongoing investigations and the practical difficulty of compiling data. While detailed maintenance records were withheld, a summary table of supplier costs for the Snaefell Mountain Railway from April to July 2017 was provided. | ||
| 2017-04-29 | Fixed penalty notices | Not required to fulfill request |
| The Department of Infrastructure provided statistics on fixed penalty notices issued and appeals allowed for three financial years but refused to disclose the total number of appeals made or details on unpaid tickets. | ||
| 2017-03-27 | Parking Ticket Thomas Keig Est | Not required to fulfill request |
| The Department of Infrastructure refused a request for information regarding parking tickets issued to Thomas Keig Est, citing that the data constitutes personal information and that compiling the requested details would require extensive analysis not mandated by the Act. | ||