Attorney General Government Tenders

Summary

The requester asked if the Isle of Man Attorney General had business interests in construction companies awarded contracts by the Department of Infrastructure over the last 10 years. The authority refused to provide the information directly, citing that it is already reasonably accessible in public Government Audited Accounts.

Key Facts

• The request was received and responded to on 8 April 2021.
• The Department of Infrastructure stated the information is available in the Government Audited Accounts (Dark Blue Books).
• Audited Accounts are publicly available online dating back to the 2013/14 financial year.
• The most recent completed accounts at the time were for 2018-19.
• Details of 'Related party' transactions can be found from page 78 onwards in the 2018-19 accounts.

Data Disclosed

• 8 April 2021
• 10 years
• 2013/14
• 2018-19
• page 78
• section 7.28
• section 20
• section 33 of FRS102
• 1741877

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information reasonably accessible)

Original Request

Dear Sirs I would be obliged if you can supply if the Isle of Man Attorney General is a director or has any business interests in any construction company that the Department of Infrastructure has awarded contracts to over the last 10 years . If so , please provide the name of the contracts and the total cost of the tender .

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team/BC/MF Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 1741877 8 April 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 8 April 2021 and which states (sic):

"Dear Sirs I would be obliged if you can supply if the Isle of Man Attorney General is a director or has any business interests in any construction company that the Department of Infrastructure has awarded contracts to over the last 10 years . If so , please provide the name of the contracts and the total cost of the tender ."

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. The Government Audited Accounts (Dark Blue Books) are publically available each year and contain the information you are looking for. You can access these documents going back to 2013/14 by using the link below. All years: https://www.gov.im/categories/tax-vat-and-your-money/government-accounts/ 2018-19, which is the last completed year (the most recent will be published in the next few months) can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.im/media/1368468/audited-accounts-government-accounts-2018- 19.pdf These documents lay out details of any ‘Related party’ transactions and in the last published year you can find this information from page 78 onwards. In section 7.28 it explains the definition of Related Parties (see below). By inference, if a senior officer of Government is not mentioned, they have not had any involvement in an organisation which has attained financial benefit from a Government contract: “Related Party Transactions Section 33 of FRS102 requires an entity to disclose within its financial statements material transactions with related parties, that is bodies or individuals, that have the potential to control or influence Government Departments, Boards and Offices, or to be controlled or influenced by the same. Disclosure of these

transactions allows the readers to assess the extent to which the Government might have been constrained in its ability to operate independently or might have secured the ability to limit another party’s ability to bargain freely with the Government.”

Please quote the reference number 1741877 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 us and we 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 us. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. We will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

FOI Response Team