Grants and Financial Assistance

Summary

The requester asked for details on grants and financial incentives provided to non-Isle of Man companies relocating to the island, but the Department for Enterprise refused to disclose specific information citing economic prejudice.

Key Facts

• The Department for Enterprise administers a Financial Assistance Scheme for businesses relocating to the Isle of Man.
• The Scheme supports export-focused sectors and can assist with capital expenditure, rent, marketing, and employee relocation.
• Specific details on grants offered or declined were withheld to prevent competitor jurisdictions from gaining a commercial advantage.
• The Department assesses applications based on business plans, financials, and potential job creation.
• Some general information regarding the scheme is already published annually under the Enterprise Act 2008.

Data Disclosed

• 2022-05-04
• 2022-05-27
• 2428705
• section 30
• section 6
• Enterprise Act 2008
• 5 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act (prejudice to economic interests of the Island)
• Public interest test (disclosure would be contrary to the public interest)

Original Request

Please provide information on what grants, financial incentives, or support has been provided or offered (including declined offers, or offers not used) to companies whose primary business was not based on the Isle of Man for that business to open a branch or relocate to the Island. Examples of potential incentives (The FOI request is not limited to these examples) Direct financial support to locate a business or new branch to the Island Grants for shop fittings Grants for refurbishment of premises (not covered under the Town Regeneration Schemes) Financial assistance towards shipping costs (initial or ongoing) Relocation costs of staff Rate reductions Grants towards costs of rent or building purchase

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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

Telephone: (01624 686400) Website: www.iomdfenterprise.com Email: dpo-dfe @gov.im

Our ref: 2428705 27 May 2022

Dear ####

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

"Please provide information on what grants, financial incentives, or support has been provided or offered (including declined offers, or offers not used) to companies whose primary business was not based on the Isle of Man for that business to open a branch or relocate to the Island.

Examples of potential incentives (The FOI request is not limited to these examples)

Direct financial support to locate a business or new branch to the Island

Grants for shop fittings

Grants for refurbishment of premises (not covered under the Town Regeneration Schemes)

Financial assistance towards shipping costs (initial or ongoing)

Relocation costs of staff

Rate reductions

Grants towards costs of rent or building purchase"

Our response:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 30 of the Act as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island.

Qualified Exemption. In relation to the information you are requesting, beyond that information already published by the Department, namely the information released annually under section 6 of the Enterprise Act 20081, the Department is refusing to disclose this information on the basis that a qualified exemption in section 30 of the Act is engaged and it would be contrary to the public interest if this information is disclosed.

Section 30(1) states that information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice: (a) the economic interests of the Island;
(b) the financial interests of the Island; or (c) the ability of the government to manage the national economy.

Assessment of s30(1)

A disclosure of information under the Act is deemed to be a disclosure to the world rather than a disclosure to an individual requestor. Furthermore, requests for information should be treated on an applicant blind basis.

The Department administers the Financial Assistance Scheme which can grant assist businesses relocating to the Island. The Scheme predominately supports export focused sectors, unless there is an element of import substitution or if there has been a special incentive made due a consequence of a lack of services on Island. Where a business is relocating to the Island, the Scheme can assist with capital expenditure, rent, first year expenses, marketing, energy efficiency and employee relocation incentives (where a business needs to relocate specialist off-Island workers).

In offering assistance under the Scheme the Department assesses the eligibility of the applicant, utilising information provided in a business plan, business financials, the management team structure and other information the Department may request in order to appraise the application.

The final appraisal takes into account any local competition considerations and also the indirect revenue that Government will receive as a result of the businesses relocating to the Island, including job creation, to ensure value for money and that all businesses add value to the economy.

Disclosure of the information would provide competitor jurisdictions and their development agencies with a significant commercial advantage over the Island. The Department has not been able to find examples of this type of information being either publically available, or disclosed through a relevant Freedom of Information request. It is the view of the Department that disclosure of this information, would be likely to directly prejudice the economic and financial interests of the Island and the ability of government to manage the national economy for the following reasons:

• Disclosure of the information would be likely to prejudice the ability of the Island to attract new businesses by providing competitor jurisdictions with a significant advantage of knowing the levels of incentives offered. Allowing other

1 https://www.iomdfenterprise.im/enterprise-act-2008-annual-reports/

jurisdictions to effectively undermine the ability of the Department to attract relocations by offering greater incentives

• This would undermine the national economy, either reducing the ability to attract new business and associated jobs, leading to economic stagnation or decline and damaging the ability to maintain a competitive market across multiple sectors, removing the ability to maintain sound public finances and an efficient tax and benefits system;

• Thereby impacting directly on the efficient administration of government finances in minimising the cost to the taxpayer, would be likely to increase the long term cost to the taxpayer and have significant impact on the Island’s population;

• Disclosure of the information may directly impact on the commercial interests of a business in receipt of financial assistance, thereby removing any commercial reason for remaining on the Island, leading to a relocation to another jurisdiction (whether offering incentives or not) and the impact this loss would have on the economy of the Island.

Section 30(1) are qualified exemptions and therefore it is subject to the public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:

• That the release of this information would provide some insight into the one of the processes used to maintain the economic and financial stability of the Island, which may increase public confidence in the process;

• Disclosure would promote increased transparency and provide insight and better understanding of the cost of maintaining a stable economic footing in a small jurisdiction in what is a competitive marketplace. Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include:

• The national economy of the Island is sensitive to small changes in the business market, disclosure of this information would be likely to impact on the Islands ability to incentivise inward investment, thereby impacting directly on new and potentially existing employment opportunities;

• Protecting the ability to offer incentives that are sufficiently attractive to allow relocation of businesses, but are also value for money that are not available to competitors;

• Protecting the effective and efficient administration of government finances and minimising the cost to the taxpayer, by ensuring a vibrant and growing economic environment is maintained;

• Ensuring the Island continues to be able to provide a range of financial assistance, guidance and support to those businesses which are interested in relocating to the Island, and in turn the additional employment opportunities and exchequer benefit provided by such businesses.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each aspect of these arguments the Department has considered that the information to which this request relates is still relevant to the economy and finances of the Island, disclosure would not only prejudice those areas, but also the ability of government to manage the national economy for the good of all Island residents.

Disclosure of the information will not assist any increased public understanding of the matter and there is no similar information already in the public domain. The Department therefore concludes that the risk of harm from disclosure outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public by the information being disclosed.

Please quote the reference number 2428705 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

Data Protection Officer