Ramsey Marina

Summary

A request was made for correspondence and meeting details regarding Ramsey Marina between the Department of Infrastructure and private individuals over a 12-month period. The authority refused to disclose any information, citing exemptions for commercial interests and personal data.

Key Facts

• The request covered correspondence and meetings from 01/06/21 to 01/06/22.
• Information was withheld under Section 30 to protect the commercial interests of Ramsey Marina Limited.
• Meeting attendance details were withheld under Section 25 as absolutely exempt personal data.
• The public interest test concluded that protecting business confidence outweighed transparency.
• The request was closed on 28 June 2022 with no information sent.

Data Disclosed

• 2484425
• 2022-06-06
• 2022-06-28
• 01/06/21
• 01/06/22
• 3
• 1
• section 30
• section 25
• Article 5
• Article 6

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 (Commercial interests)
• Section 25 (Personal data)

Original Request

Please provide copies of all correspondence between the Department of Infrastructure (Ministers and Officers) and the individuals behind Ramsey Marina Limited or anyone representing these individuals (before of after the company was formed) on the subject of Ramsey Marina, Ramsey Harbour, Ramsey Bay, South Beach and the Queen's Pier; all details of any meetings held between the same, including when, where and who was present at such meetings, along with the purpose of the meeting and any notes/minutes over the past 12 months (01/06/21 - 01/06/22).

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 2484425 28 June 2022

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 6 June 2022 and which states (sic):

"Please provide copies of all correspondence between the Department of Infrastructure (Ministers and Officers) and the individuals behind Ramsey Marina Limited or anyone representing these individuals (before of after the company was formed) on the subject of Ramsey Marina, Ramsey Harbour, Ramsey Bay, South Beach and the Queen's Pier; all details of any meetings held between the same, including when, where and who was present at such meetings, along with the purpose of the meeting and any notes/minutes over the past 12 months (01/06/21 - 01/06/22)." 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 prejudice the commercial interests of the individuals behind Ramsey Marina Ltd.
As section 30 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure • Government transparency and openness

Factors in favour of withholding • Information contained within the correspondence between the Department and the individuals behind Ramsey Marina Limited may prejudice the commercial interests of those behind Ramsey Marina Limited. • Public disclosure of the information may damage business confidence. • The need to protect the commercial interests of the private sector, which plays an important role in the general health of the economy.

s25(b)(i)&(ii) Furthermore, we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that: • The Department of Infrastructure is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data of which you are not the data subject; and • The Department of Infrastructure is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles as set out at Article 5 of the General Data Protection Regulation as it applies in the Isle of Man pursuant to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, namely that the Department of Infrastructure can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions for lawful processing in Article 6 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. Information regarding when, where, and who attended any meetings constitutes personal data of which you are not the data subject.

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

Please quote the reference number 2484425 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 us and we 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 us. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. We will now close your request as of this date.