UN COP26 invitations

Summary

The request sought details on Isle of Man Government invitations and attendance plans for UN COP26 events in Milan and Glasgow. The Cabinet Office responded that no official invitations had been received by any department and that personal attendance is not monitored.

Key Facts

• The Cabinet Office had not received an official invitation to COP26 in Glasgow or the pre-COP26 meeting in Milan.
• No other Isle of Man Government Departments were known to have received invitations at the time of the response.
• Accommodation was pre-booked for a total cost of £3,024, which can be cancelled at no cost.
• Attendance decisions depend on the success of bids to hold events at the conference.
• Personal attendance by officials in their own time is not monitored or recorded by the government.

Data Disclosed

• 2021-09-21
• 2021-10-07
• 1 to 12 November 2021
• 30 September 2021 to 2 October 2021
• £3,024
• 2000801

Original Request

In the recent meeting with the UK parliament the Chief Minister implied that no-one from the Isle of Man Government had been invited to the UN COP26 global summits in Milan and Glasgow. How many employees/roles from what departments were (a) officially invited to attend (b) agreed to attend with official travel expenses (c) decided to attend self-funded with or without professional development leave or annual leave and equally how many employees/roles are due to attend what events (a) the official global summit (b) any other unofficial events split into unofficial events firstly with and secondly without an Isle of Man connection?

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: 2000801 7 October 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 21 September 2021 and which states:

"In the recent meeting with the UK parliament the Chief Minister implied that no-one from the Isle of Man Government had been invited to the UN COP26 global summits in Milan and Glasgow. How many employees/roles from what departments were (a) officially invited to attend (b) agreed to attend with official travel expenses (c) decided to attend self-funded with or without professional development leave or annual leave and equally how many employees/roles are due to attend what events (a) the official global summit (b) any other unofficial events split into unofficial events firstly with and secondly without an Isle of Man connection?"

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Cabinet Office does not hold some of the information that you have requested. At the time of the request, the Cabinet Office has not received an official invitation to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow on 1 to 12 November 2021 or the pre-COP26 meeting taking place in Milan on 30 September 2021 to 2 October 2021. Nor is the Cabinet Office currently aware of invitations being extended to any other Isle of Man Government Departments.
In the interest of ensuring the best value for money, accommodation bookings were reserved early in the year should the Isle of Man have a presence at COP26. The total cost of the booking is £3,024 and can be cancelled at no cost. At this stage, attendance is largely dependent on the success of the Isle of Man Government’s bids to hold events at the Conference and whether these events will require physical or virtual attendance. The event format is still under consideration and has not yet been finalised. With regard to Isle of Man Government officials attending in a personal capacity during their own time, this is not something that would be monitored or recorded. Please quote the reference number 2000801 in any future communications.

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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.
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Yours sincerely