Wedding - Garden of Government House-15 September 2018 (Malarkey)

Summary

A requester sought details regarding the authorization and use of Government House gardens for an MHK's daughter's wedding in September 2018, questioning potential conflicts of interest and public access rules. The Cabinet Office responded that some information was provided, but not all requested data was held by the authority.

Key Facts

• The request concerns a wedding held in the Government House gardens on 15 September 2018.
• The event was for the daughter of a Member of the House of Keys (MHK).
• The Cabinet Office stated that not all information requested was held by them.
• The response was issued on 19 November 2019, following receipt of the request on 28 October 2019.
• The requester raised concerns regarding the Code of Corporate Governance and potential benefits in kind.

Data Disclosed

• 15 September 2018
• 28 October 2019
• 19 November 2019
• 1021501
• 5 pages
• 1 document
• 20 working days

Original Request

I am an Isle of Man resident and am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information provisions. In respect of the above event, I would like to know: Are members of the Manx general public allowed to rent / book the Government House gardens for private events? If the answer is "yes", what is the process to hire the gardens, the conditions under which they can be hired and the name of the person to contact to make a reservation / booking? Who (full name of official,their department and job title) agreed to and authorised an MHK to hold his daughter's wedding in the Government House gardens on 15 September 2018? In whose name was the booking (or whatever terminology was agreed) for the event? On what basis was that authorisation given and when? Were any government resources (financial, materials, equipment, administrative or personnel) used in any aspect of this event? Were any wedding guests allowed access to Government House for any purpose (e.g. toilets, catering, photographs)? If the Manx general public are not allowed access to the gardens for private events, what special conditions are there for MHKs and their families? Has The Treasury assessed whether the free provision of Government House gardens for the purpose of a wedding would be considered as a benefit in kind for the purpose of income tax if the beneficiary was in receipt of an IOM Government salary? If a member of the Manx general public cannot hire the grounds, but an MHK can (evidenced by the wedding of 15 September 2018), this would contravene the Government's Code of Corporate Governance - Principle 1: Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or other friends. What are the sanctions for a breach of any of the 7 Principles of Public Life by an MHK ? Who is responsible for administering those sanctions if an MHK breaches them? Have any sanctions been imposed on any person for allowing this event to take place? Did the MHK in question make any declaration in a register of interests / conflict of interest or any other way of providing public transparency? Is the Chief Minister aware of the breach of the 7 Principles? What steps has or does he intend to take to sanction the MHK responsible? I believe that this is likely to be included with the Freedom of Information definition of 'all information held by authorities listed in Schedule 1 of the Act and which was created on or after 11 October 2011.' I would like the above information to be provided to me as electronic copies by email to me. If the files are too large to transfer by email, I am happy to attend your offices with a USB stick. If you prefer alternative arrangements, please contact me to discuss. If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that Manx law requires you to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already is already publicly available, please advise and assist me to locate the information I am seeking, with page references and URLs if necessary. If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should generally not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed. I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 1021501 19 November 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 28 October 2019 which states:

"I am an Isle of Man resident and am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information provisions. In respect of the above event, I would like to know: Are members of the Manx general public allowed to rent / book the Government House gardens for private events? If the answer is "yes", what is the process to hire the gardens, the conditions under which they can be hired and the name of the person to contact to make a reservation / booking? Who (full name of official, their department and job title) agreed to and authorised an MHK to hold his daughter's wedding in the Government House gardens on 15 September 2018? In whose name was the booking (or whatever terminology was agreed) for the event? On what basis was that authorisation given and when? Were any government resources (financial, materials, equipment, administrative or personnel) used in any aspect of this event? Were any wedding guests allowed access to Government House for any purpose (e.g. toilets, catering, photographs)? If the Manx general public are not allowed access to the gardens for private events, what special conditions are there for MHKs and their families? Has The Treasury assessed whether the free provision of Government House gardens for the purpose of a wedding would be considered as a benefit in kind for the purpose of income tax if the beneficiary was in receipt of an IOM Government salary? If a member of the Manx general public cannot hire the grounds, but an MHK can (evidenced by the wedding of 15 September 2018), this would contravene the Government's Code of Corporate Governance - Principle 1: Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in

order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or other friends. What are the sanctions for a breach of any of the 7 Principles of Public Life by an MHK? Who is responsible for administering those sanctions if an MHK breaches them? Have any sanctions been imposed on any person for allowing this event to take place? Did the MHK in question make any declaration in a register of interests / conflict of interest or any other way of providing public transparency? Is the Chief Minister aware of the breach of the 7 Principles? What steps has or does he intend to take to sanction the MHK responsible? I believe that this is likely to be included with the Freedom of Information definition of 'all information held by authorities listed in Schedule 1 of the Act and which was created on or after 11 October 2011.' I would like the above information to be provided to me as electronic copies by email to me. If the files are too large to transfer by email, I am happy to attend your offices with a USB stick. If you prefer alternative arrangements, please contact me to discuss. If this request is too wide or unclear, I would be grateful if you could contact me as I understand that Manx law requires you to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already is already publicly available, please advise and assist me to locate the information I am seeking, with page references and URLs if necessary. If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should generally not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed. I understand that you are required to respond to my request within the 20 working days after you receive this letter. I would be grateful if you could confirm in writing that you have received this request." Please find below answers to your questions posed in your request.
Q1. Are members of the Manx general public allowed to rent / book the Government House gardens for private events? Enquiries from non-government organisations, charities or business, asking whether the Lieutenant Governor and his wife will host events for them are regularly considered. In addition, the Lieutenant Governor may make personal offers on condition that no costs would fall to Manx taxpayers. Q2. If the answer is "yes", what is the process to hire the gardens, the conditions under which they can be hired and the name of the person to

contact to make a reservation / booking? Government House and its gardens are not available for hire as advised above. Any enquiries regarding whether the Lieutenant Governor will host an event should be sent by email to government.house@gov.im. Q3. Who (full name of official, their department and job title) agreed to and authorised an MHK to hold his daughter's wedding in the Government House gardens on 15 September 2018? The Lieutenant Governor made a personal offer to Mr and Mrs Malarkey to hold their wedding in the garden of Government House on 15 September 2018. Please note it was their wedding, not Mr Malarkey’s daughters. Q4. In whose name was the booking (or whatever terminology was agreed) for the event? It was recorded as the wedding of Mr & Mrs Malarkey. Q5. On what basis was that authorisation given and when? This was a personal offer made by the Lieutenant Governor on the basis of no cost to the Manx taxpayer. Q6. Were any government resources (financial, materials, equipment, administrative or personnel) used in any aspect of this event? Apart from some initial (and minimal) administration to advise what would be necessary for the event to run smoothly, no government resources were used. Q7. Were any wedding guests allowed access to Government House for any purpose (e.g. toilets, catering, photographs)? On arrival, and at the suggestion of the Lieutenant Governor who was himself a wedding guest, guests walked through the House to pick up a drink on their way to a marquee on the lawn. The outside toilets were available for use throughout the event. Q8. If the Manx general public are not allowed access to the gardens for private events, what special conditions are there for MHKs and their families? There are no special conditions for MHKs to access the gardens for private events. Q9. Has The Treasury assessed whether the free provision of Government House gardens for the purpose of a wedding would be considered as a benefit in kind for the purpose of income tax if the beneficiary was in receipt of an IOM Government salary? A practical refusal reason applies under s11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (“the Act”) as the Cabinet Office does not hold the information requested.

Q10. If a member of the Manx general public cannot hire the grounds, but an MHK can (evidenced by the wedding of 15 September 2018), this would contravene the Government's Code of Corporate Governance - Principle 1: Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or other friends. This is a statement rather than a request for information and therefore outwith section 8(1) of the Act. Q11. What are the sanctions for a breach of any of the 7 Principles of Public Life by an MHK ? The Seven Principles of Public Life form part of the Government Code which applies to Ministers, Department Members and Members of Statutory Board. https://www.gov.im/media/1359547/the-government-code-february-2017.pdf. Q12. Who is responsible for administering those sanctions if an MHK breaches them? This is detailed in the Government Code https://www.gov.im/media/1359547/the- government-code-february-2017.pdf. Q13 Have any sanctions been imposed on any person for allowing this event to take place? A practical refusal reason applies under s11(3)(a) of the Act as the Cabinet Office does not hold the information requested. Q14 Did the MHK in question make any declaration in a register of interests / conflict of interest or any other way of providing public transparency? A practical refusal reason applies under s11(3)(a) of the Act as the Cabinet Office does not hold the information requested. To provide advice and assistance as required by the Freedom of Information Act, the Register of Member’s Interest is available online: http://www.tynwald.org.im/memoff/interest/Pages/default.aspx Q15 Is the Chief Minister aware of the breach of the 7 Principles? What steps has or does he intend to take to sanction the MHK responsible? This is a question rather than a request for information and therefore outwith section 8(1) of the Act. Please quote the reference number 1021501 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi.

I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely