Appeal number 19/0140/B

Summary

The requester sought correspondence regarding a planning appeal involving the Cabinet Office, specific ministers, and the Department of Environment. The Cabinet Office provided some information for part 2 of the request but withheld personal data under exemption and confirmed it did not hold information for parts 1, 3, and 4.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 2021-08-17 and responded to on 2021-09-15.
• Information for part 2 of the request was partially released, with some withheld as personal data.
• The Cabinet Office confirmed it does not hold information requested in parts 1, 3, and 4.
• The requester was advised to contact the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture for information regarding tree felling and boundary issues.
• The response cites Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 as the basis for withholding personal information.

Data Disclosed

• 1952905
• 19/0140/B
• 2021-08-17
• 2021-09-15
• IM1 3PN
• IM7 3AF
• IM4 3AS
• 01624 686244
• 01624 685835
• Section 25
• Article 5
• Article 6
• 2018

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 (Article 5 and Article 6)

Original Request

Please supply me with copies of ALL correspondence letters/emails etc relating to the above mentioned successful appeal. IN PARTICULAR. 1) The correspondence between the Hon G Boot MHK and the Lawyers/Advocates he is alleged to have consulted with, relating to the decision and reasons for this decision, made by the Independent Inspector/Officer. 2) All correspondence between the Cabinet Office, the Minister and ANY of the Officers concerned with the Planning Procedure especially Jennifer Chance, Erica Spencer, Abigail Morgan and Richard Baker. 3) All correspondence made to P Carpenter, the Applicant, made by the Planning Department who originally gave him permission to build against all the criteria put against it, and for which this successful appeal had to be made. 4) All correspondence made by the Department of Environment (Forestry) that relates to the property Sandygate House Clenagh Road Sandygate IM7 3AF involving tree felling/pruning licenses, which also includes illegal tree removal and boundary incursion.

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: 1952905 15 September 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 17 August 2021 and which states:

"Please supply me with copies of ALL correspondence letters/emails etc relating to the above mentioned successful appeal. IN PARTICULAR. 1) The correspondence between the Hon G Boot MHK and the Lawyers/Advocates he is alleged to have consulted with, relating to the decision and reasons for this decision, made by the Independent Inspector/Officer. 2) All correspondence between the Cabinet Office, the Minister and ANY of the Officers concerned with the Planning Procedure especially Jennifer Chance, Erica Spencer, Abigail Morgan and Richard Baker. 3) All correspondence made to P Carpenter, the Applicant, made by the Planning Department who originally gave him permission to build against all the criteria put against it, and for which this successful appeal had to be made. 4) All correspondence made by the Department of Environment (Forestry) that relates to the property Sandygate House Clenagh Road Sandygate IM7 3AF involving tree felling/pruning licenses, which also includes illegal tree removal and boundary incursion." Our response to your request is as follows: I have attached the information that is held for part 2 of your request. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide

some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Cabinet Office is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Cabinet Office can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Cabinet Office does not hold the information that you have requested for questions 1, 3 and 4.

However, you may wish to contact the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Head Office, Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John's, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS or Telephone: 01624 685835 who may be able to help you.

Please quote the reference number 1952905 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