Open Skies

Summary

A request was made for the publication of a review into the Isle of Man's air services referenced by the Minister for Enterprise in November 2021. The Department for Enterprise refused to disclose the information, citing that it relates to the formulation of government policy and that releasing it would be contrary to the public interest.

Key Facts

• The requested information is a review of the island's air services commissioned by the Department for Enterprise.
• The policy regarding air services is currently in active development and has not yet been agreed by the Council of Ministers.
• Disclosure is deemed potentially detrimental to the broader economic interests of the Isle of Man.
• Releasing the review could allow dominant airlines to gain an unfair advantage over competitors in future market processes.
• The Department stated the information will be made publicly available upon completion of policy development.

Data Disclosed

• 2426405
• 2022-05-04
• 2022-05-25
• November 9 2021
• 23rd May 2022
• section 34
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 34 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Formulation or development of Government policy)

Original Request

I seek the publication of the review undertaken into the island's air services, as referenced by the Minister for Enterprise in the House of Keys on November 9 2021.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

23rd May 2022

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 685375) Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: dpo-dfe@gov.im

Our ref: 2426405

Dear ####

Freedom of Information Act 2015

I write further to your request which was received on 4th May 2022 and which states:

"I seek the publication of the review undertaken into the island's air services, as referenced by the Minister for Enterprise in the House of Keys on November 9 2021."

The information you have requested has been classified as exempt from disclosure under section 34 of the Act, beyond information that may already have been published by the Department concerning this topic. Consequently the Department is unable to disclose any further details on the basis of that qualified exemption as it is deemed to be contrary to the public interest if this information is released at this present time.

Section 34 states that information is qualified exempt information if the information relates to:

The formulation or development of Government policy.

Assessment of s34(1) (a)

The information requested was commissioned by this Department and is being used to provide informed background and options for the future policy for air services to the Isle of Man. This policy is yet to be agreed by the Council of Ministers and remains in active development.

Disclosure of the information at this stage is considered to be potentially detrimental to the broader economic interests of the Isle of Man, ahead of finalising the agreed policy and engaging further with the aviation industry.

Section 34(1)(a) is a qualified exemption and therefore it is subject to the public interest test, to determine whether the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

2

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:

• That the release of this information would provide a greater understanding of the current application of the open skies policy, it’s impacts and the policy options open to Government to secure air routes to and from the Island.
Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include:

• The disclosure of this information into the public arena will provide information to airlines of the potential policy direction, in advance of that policy being agreed, this will be likely to negatively affect the results of applying the policy;

• This may lead to a position where a dominant airline, with resource behind it has the ability to position itself to gain significant advantage over competitors and therefore potentially distort any future open market process;

• Future aviation policy, and its effective application, are of critical importance to the Island’s people, economy and position as an attractive place to live, work and visit, therefore it is considered to be of greater public interest to conclude policy development prior to releasing relevant information at this stage. In assessing the weight to be attributed to each aspect of these arguments this Department has considered that the information to which this request relates is entirely relevant to the development of an air services policy by the various Departments involved and ultimately the Council of Ministers.

The Department has already determined that the information requested will be made publically available on completion of policy development and implementation.

In taking these factors into account this Department determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 2426405 in any future communication.

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.

3

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. This now concludes your information request as of this date.

Yours sincerely

Data Protection Officer