whistleblowers participation in mandatory whistleblowing training

Summary

The requester asked how many previous or pending whistleblowers were invited to contribute to government whistleblowing training materials or sessions. The Cabinet Office responded that no whistleblowers were invited for these specific activities, though public consultations on the policy occurred in 2015 and 2021.

Key Facts

• Whistleblowers and pending whistleblowers were not invited to review or contribute to whistleblowing materials.
• Whistleblowers were not invited to participate in workshops or 'ask me anything' sessions.
• The original Whistleblowing Policy was consulted on in 2015.
• A public consultation on the updated Whistleblowing Policy was launched in July 2021.
• The authority noted that while the request was not vexatious, some wording was extraneous to the FOI Act.

Data Disclosed

• 2015
• July 2021
• 2021-11-05
• 2021-11-23
• section 11(3)(d)

Original Request

inspired by greta thunberg as a whistleblowing victim, voter and taxpayer i have to speak out and say "no more blah blah blah" if freedom of information requests are the only visible proof of any reform agenda, we need to reform the reform process political leaders and senior management must not pretend to take whistleblowing seriously, change must come from inside government and parliament, it should not need insights from outside but any such expertise (albeit unwanted) should be welcomed not disrepected with inaction or worse so, how many (a) previous whistleblowers (b) pending whistleblowers have been invited to (i) review and/or contribute to any whistleblowing material in government such as elearning content and workshop handouts (ii) participate in real world scenarios in workshops to counteract the perceived institutionalised bias against whistleblowers (iii) participate in "ask me anything" sessions given government claims for years that the existing whistleblowing policy was "fit for purpose" and implemented consistently and operated effectively throughout government and yet cumulative reported concerns in just one employment dispute highlights a very broken system with systemic failure after systemic failure, cover ups of cover ups, wholly inadequate employee indemnification arrangements, etc?

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: 2072749 23 November 2021

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 5 November 2021 and which states:

"inspired by greta thunberg as a whistleblowing victim, voter and taxpayer i have to speak out and say "no more blah blah blah" if freedom of information requests are the only visible proof of any reform agenda, we need to reform the reform process political leaders and senior management must not pretend to take whistleblowing seriously, change must come from inside government and parliament, it should not need insights from outside but any such expertise (albeit unwanted) should be welcomed not disrepected with inaction or worse so, how many (a) previous whistleblowers (b) pending whistleblowers have been invited to (i) review and/or contribute to any whistleblowing material in government such as elearning content and workshop handouts (ii) participate in real world scenarios in workshops to counteract the perceived institutionalised bias against whistleblowers (iii) participate in "ask me anything" sessions given government claims for years that the existing whistleblowing policy was "fit for purpose" and implemented consistently and operated effectively throughout government and yet cumulative reported concerns in just one employment dispute highlights a very broken system with systemic failure after systemic failure, cover ups of cover ups, wholly inadequate employee indemnification arrangements, etc?"

Our response to your request is as follows: Whistleblowers and pending whistleblowers were not invited to review and/or contribute to any whistleblowing materials or to participate in workshops and/or 'ask me anything' sessions. The original Whistleblowing Policy went out to consultation in 2015 and was published on the Isle of Man Government website for the opportunity to provide comment. In July 2021, a public consultation on the updated Whistleblowing Policy was launched, where consultees were invited to comment on any particular aspect of the draft policy,

or the draft policy as a whole: https://consult.gov.im/cabinet-office/whistleblowing- policy/. Responses to this consultation are currently being collated for consideration in the final draft policy update. Feedback on how the responses have affected the final draft will be published in due course. Please note that under section 11(3)(d) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 a public authority may refuse to give the information requested in the request for information is vexatious, malicious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in substance. While your request is not deemed to be vexatious, malicious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in substance, there is some wording used which is extraneous to the purpose of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 and your right of access to information held by public authorities. I have highlighted the particular wording in question within your request below: “‘inspired by greta thunberg as a whistleblowing victim, voter and taxpayer i have to speak out and say "no more blah blah blah" if freedom of information requests are the only visible proof of any reform agenda, we need to reform the reform process political leaders and senior management must not pretend to take whistleblowing seriously, change must come from inside government and parliament, it should not need insights from outside but any such expertise (albeit unwanted) should be welcomed not disrepected with inaction or worse… …given government claims for years that the existing whistleblowing policy was "fit for purpose" and implemented consistently and operated effectively throughout government and yet cumulative reported concerns in just one employment dispute highlights a very broken system with systemic failure after systemic failure, cover ups of cover ups, wholly inadequate employee indemnification arrangements, etc?” This particular wording does not constitute a request under the Freedom of Information Act 2015 and is therefore deemed extraneous and irrelevant to your request. With any future requests please keep all wording focused on the recorded information being requested. Further information on what is considered to be vexatious, malicious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in substance is given in section 2.4 of the Code of Practice issued under s60 of the Act, which you can find here: www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/Tynwald%2020142016/2015-GD- 0068.pdf.’ Please quote the reference number 2072749 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