Board Meetings

Summary

The requester asked for specific costs and details regarding Manx Care board meetings held at MNH, including venue rental and technical services. Manx Care withheld exact figures citing commercial prejudice but disclosed the number of meetings and provided cost ranges for the services.

Key Facts

• Manx Care held two board meetings in MNH buildings since its inception on 1 April 2021.
• Exact costs for venue rental and technical services were withheld under Section 30 of the Act to protect commercial interests.
• Aggregate costs for broadcast and technical services for the two meetings were between £3,000 and £5,000.
• Aggregate costs for hospitality, catering, and space rental for the two meetings were between £1,000 and £1,500.
• The authority determined that the public interest in transparency did not outweigh the potential prejudice to suppliers.

Data Disclosed

• 2022-02-01
• 2022-02-24
• 1 April 2021
• 2
• £3,000
• £5,000
• £1,000
• £1,500
• Section 30

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Act (Commercial Interests)

Original Request

How much does Manx Care pay per meeting to A) rent space from MNH to host its board meetings and B) for the technical services provided by a private local company for these meetings? How many meetings have been held in buildings owned by MNH? What is the total amount paid by Manx Care to date for both A and B? When was the decision taken not to host the meetings Keyll Darree and by who?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Manx Care Noble’s Hospital, Strang Braddan, Isle of Man IM4 4R (01624) 650 000

Our ref: 2226209 24 February 2022

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 1 February 2022 and which states:

"Q1. How much does Manx Care pay per meeting to A) rent space from MNH to host its board meetings and B) for the technical services provided by a private local company for these meetings? Q2. How many meetings have been held in buildings owned by MNH? Q3. What is the total amount paid by Manx Care to date for both A and B? Q4. When was the decision taken not to host the meetings Keyll Darree and by who?"

Our response Question 1: How much does Manx Care pay per meeting to A) rent space from MNH to host its board meetings and B) for the technical services provided by a private local company for these meetings? While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the information requested is exempt under section 30 of the Act, as disclosure would be prejudice to the commercial interests of the providers. As section 30 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a prejudice interest test. This means there must be likelihood that disclosure would cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. Factors in favour of disclosure • We recognise there is a general public interest in disclosure of information in the interests of openness, and fairness and which would facilitate the accountability and transparency of public authorities for decisions taken by them. We also recognise the public interest in providing this information may help build greater public confidence in our processes. • The request concerns financial details connected with private companies providing services to Manx Care. Manx Care acknowledges that the provision of such services and their cost is of public interest and that there is therefore, an argument to be made that there is a strong public interest in the information being made available. Factors in favour of withholding

• There are other factors, however, which argue the case for public interest lying in not releasing the material that we hold. Section 30 of the Act provides for qualified exemptions in relation to the potential for disclosures being likely to prejudice the commercial interests of one of the parties. • Notably the likelihood of the commercial interests of suppliers being prejudiced if the precise details of contracts between the suppliers and Manx Care.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, Manx Care has taken the following into consideration: • The severity of the impact of the prejudice is significantly weighted towards maintaining the exemption to ensure the commercial interests of the suppliers are not prejudiced. • The age of the information has been considered and as the information is current, the suppliers commercial interests could be more likely prejudiced. • While full disclosure would further the public interests identified above, Manx Care does not believe these factors outweigh the likely damage that could be caused following full disclosure. • While disclosure would be of interest to the public, Manx Care does not consider that this outweighs the factors of maintaining this exemption at this time. In taking all of these factors into account Manx Care determines that the factors in favour of maintaining outweigh those promoting a full disclosure. In order to provide advice and assistance, Manx Care can provide information on costs as a range within which costs have fallen. Since Manx Care’s inception on 1 April 2021, Manx Care has contracted with providers of broadcast and technical services in relation to Board meetings held in public settings on a total of two (2) occasions at an aggregate cost of between £3,000 and £5,000. Since Manx Care’s inception on 1 April 2021, Manx Care has contracted with providers of hospitality / catering services, including the rental of space at MNH in relation to Board meetings held in public settings on a total of two (2) occasions at an aggregate cost of between £1000 and £1500. Question 2: How many meetings have been held in buildings owned by MNH? The number of Board meetings held in MNH buildings since Manx Care’s inception on 1 April 2021 has been two (2).

Question 3: What is the total amount paid by Manx Care to date for both A and B? While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the information requested is exempt under section 30 of the Act, as disclosure would be prejudice to the commercial interests of the providers. As section 30 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a prejudice interest test. This means there must be likelihood that disclosure would cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. Factors in favour of disclosure • We recognise there is a general public interest in disclosure of information in the interests of openness, and fairness and which would facilitate the accountability and transparency of public authorities for decisions taken by them. We also recognise the public interest in providing this information may help build greater public confidence in our processes. • The request concerns financial details connected with private companies providing services to Manx Care. Manx Care acknowledges that the provision of such services and their cost is of public interest and that there is therefore, an argument to be made that there is a strong public interest in the information being made available. Factors in favour of withholding • There are other factors, however, which argue the case for public interest lying in not releasing the material that we hold. Section 30 of the Act provides for qualified exemptions in relation to the potential for disclosures being likely to prejudice the commercial interests of one of the parties. • Notably the likelihood of the commercial interests of suppliers being prejudiced if the precise details of contracts between the suppliers and Manx Care.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, Manx Care has taken the following into consideration: • The severity of the impact of the prejudice is significantly weighted towards maintaining the exemption to ensure the commercial interests of the suppliers are not prejudiced. • The age of the information has been considered and as the information is current, the suppliers commercial interests could be more likely prejudiced. • While full disclosure would further the public interests identified above, Manx Care does not believe these factors outweigh the likely damage that could be caused following full disclosure. • While disclosure would be of interest to the public, Manx Care does not consider that this outweighs the factors of maintaining this exemption at this time. In taking all of these factors into account Manx Care determines that the factors in favour of maintaining outweigh those promoting a full disclosure.

In order to provide advice and assistance, Manx Care can provide information on costs as a range within which costs have fallen. The range of costs for rental of space, hospitality / catering services and technical services for two (2) occasions on which Board meetings have been held in public settings since inception on 1 April 2021 is
£4000 and £6,500 Question 4: When was the decision taken not to host the meetings at Keyll Darree and by who? No firm decision about hosting Board meetings held in public at Keyll Darree has been taken. For practical reasons Manx Care has chosen other venues and also plans to use additional venues outside Douglas during 2022.

Please quote the reference number 2226209 in any future communications.

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