conflict registers

Summary

The request sought details on conflict registers, training compliance, and risk management failures at the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald. The authority disclosed the timeline of register implementation and training requirements but could not provide specific pass/fail status for individual managers or confirm the absence of a corporate risk register.

Key Facts

• A Conflicts Register was introduced in May 2019 under Isle of Man Government Financial Regulation A 2.4.
• Mandatory financial training includes the 'Financial Governance Foundation Course' and 'General Procurement' module via eLearn Vannin.
• Training deadlines were set for 30th June 2019 with a requirement to repeat every three years.
• The authority stated it does not hold or could not find information regarding specific pass/fail status for individual managers and minutes clerks.
• The response did not confirm whether the conflicts register issue was excluded from a corporate risk register due to management choices.

Data Disclosed

• May 2019
• 29th May 2019
• 6th August 2015
• April 2007
• 30th June 2019
• 24th June 2021
• 2
• 4
• 8
• 7
• 25
• 22
• 0
• Financial Regulation A 2.4
• Financial Practice Note A.05

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held or cannot be found after taking reasonable steps

Original Request

Please summarise the timeline of non-compliance and estimated introduction of conflict registers as part of internationally acceptable corporate governance of the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald; please itemise the relevant mandated financial management elearning training modules and/or specific financial directive that the Clerk of Tynwald as senior accounting officer had responsibility to implement in a timely manner and confirm the relevant training dates and pass/fail status of each relevant manager and minutes clerk (evidence of similar failings to understand or disregard other elearning training modules such as fairness at work); please confirm that when the conflicts register issue was recently highlighted that the issue could not be added to a corporate risk register because the management team choose not to operate a formal corporate risk management register; and do you accept that equivalent non-compliance would constitute gross misconduct in private sector regulated financial services and warrant an internal protected disclosure to the regulator?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-Ordinator Office of the Clerk of Tynwald Legislative Buildings Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PW Telephone: 01624 685500

Our ref: 1821233 25th June 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 2nd June 2021 and which states:

"Please summarise the timeline of non-compliance and estimated introduction of conflict registers as part of internationally acceptable corporate governance of the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald; please itemise the relevant mandated financial management elearning training modules and/or specific financial directive that the Clerk of Tynwald as senior accounting officer had responsibility to implement in a timely manner and confirm the relevant training dates and pass/fail status of each relevant manager and minutes clerk (evidence of similar failings to understand or disregard other elearning training modules such as fairness at work); please confirm that when the conflicts register issue was recently highlighted that the issue could not be added to a corporate risk register because the management team choose not to operate a formal corporate risk management register; and do you accept that equivalent non- compliance would constitute gross misconduct in private sector regulated financial services and warrant an internal protected disclosure to the regulator?"

Our response to your request While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested. I have detailed below the information that is held. (i) Please summarise the timeline of non-compliance and estimated introduction of conflict registers as part of internationally acceptable corporate governance of the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald As per Isle of Man Government Financial Regulation A 2.4, a Conflicts Register was introduced in the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald in May 2019 and is held in the ‘Finance’ section of the Tynwald Intranet; the creation of this dedicated Finance section of the Intranet was communicated to all staff by email of 29th May 2019.

A previous communication on conflicts of interest was sent to all staff of this Office by the Third Clerk of Tynwald on 6th August 2015, including the IOMG Conflicts of Interest Staff Guidance Note (April 2007).1 (ii) Please itemise the relevant mandated financial management elearning training modules and/or specific financial directive that the Clerk of Tynwald as senior accounting officer had responsibility to implement in a timely manner IOMG Financial Regulation Financial Practice Note A.05 specifies the requirement for all officers to undertake mandatory awareness training and an online eLearn Vannin module was developed to accommodate this. All officers are required to complete Treasury’s ‘Financial Governance Foundation Course’. An email advising this went to all staff of the Office of the Clerk of Tynwald on 29th May 2019 with a deadline for completion of 30th June 2019 (and then every three years). Officers with a delegated financial authority to undertake expenditure on behalf of the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office are also required to undertake the further eLearn Vannin training module ‘General Procurement’. This was included in the email of 29th May 2019 with a deadline for completion of 30th June 2019 (and then every three years). The Accountable Officer / Budget Holder and the Designated Finance Officer are also required to complete extra financial training modules within eLearn Vannin. This was communicated to the relevant officers by email of 29th May 2019. (iii) and confirm the relevant training dates and pass/fail status of each relevant manager and minutes clerk Following is a summary of Financial Regulation training modules completed by all current office staff between 29th May 2019 and 24th June 2021: Course Title No. of current staff required to undertake training as at 24/06/2021 No. of current staff completed as at 24/06/2021 Financial Regulations: Budget Holders - Managing Public Money 2 4 Financial Regulations: General Government Procurement 8 7 Financial Regulations: Governance Foundation Course 25 22 Financial Regulations: Sales, Receipts and Managing Debt 2 5 Financial Regulations: Tendering 2 0 (iv) Please confirm that when the conflicts register issue was recently highlighted that the issue could not be added to a corporate risk register because the management team choose not to operate a formal corporate risk management register 1 https://www.gov.im/media/622901/conflictsofinterestguidancenot.pdf

The Office of the Clerk of Tynwald does not operate a corporate risk management register. (v) Do you accept that equivalent non-compliance would constitute gross misconduct in private sector regulated financial services and warrant an internal protected disclosure to the regulator? We do not hold this information. Please quote the reference number 1821233 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 ###

FOI Co-ordinator Office of the Clerk of Tynwald www.tynwald.org.im/links/foi