Total Pension Payments

Summary

The requester asked for total pension payments to retired government employees from 2016 to present, but the Treasury refused to disclose the information.

Key Facts

• The requested information is held but exempt under Section 41 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The data is scheduled for publication in the Detailed Government Accounts for the year ending March 2021.
• The accounts are set to be laid before the Court of Tynwald at the July 2021 sitting.
• The Treasury determined that maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in immediate disclosure due to timing.
• The request was formally closed on 2021-06-29.

Data Disclosed

• 2016
• March 2021
• July 2021
• 2021-06-22
• 2021-06-29
• 1861125

Exemptions Cited

• Section 41 (Information intended for publication)

Original Request

Could you please detail the total pension payments made to retired Government employees from the Government pension fund for each of the years 2016 to present (excluding any separate pension schemes in the Statutory Boards)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

as it is held with a view to being published in the Detailed Government Accounts for the year ending March 2021, at the July 2021 sitting of Tynwald.

As section 41 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure  Public interest in transparency of issues of financial management and accountability.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption  Timing. The information will become publically available within a matter of weeks.  Disclosure would undermine the established procedure whereby information contained in the Detailed Government Accounts is generally first made available through the annual process of laying the accounts before the Court of Tynwald.

In taking these factors into account, the Treasury is satisfied that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of the disclosure of the information.

Please quote the reference number 1861125 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

xx