Consultations - 'Smarter use of your data to improve Government services' submissions

Summary

The requester asked for the number of submissions and copies of public submissions regarding the 'Smarter use of your data' consultation. The Cabinet Office responded that this information was already published online and therefore exempt from disclosure under Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 19 October 2017 and responded to on 15 November 2017.
• The authority stated that submission counts and public responses are available on the government consultation website.
• Information was withheld because it is already reasonably accessible to the public online.
• Hard copies can be requested via change@gov.im for those without internet access.
• The authority noted that consultation queries should ideally be directed to specific contact details rather than through the FOI process.

Data Disclosed

• 19 October 2017
• 15 November 2017
• Section 20
• October 2017
• three months
• 685780
• CAB00011

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Information reasonably accessible)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

1

REFERENCE NUMBER: CAB00011

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) Thank you for your written application received 19 October 2017 for the following information: “I refer to the 'Smarter use of your data to improve Government services' consultations. 1. Please can you state how many submissions were received. 2. Please can you send me copies of all the submissions whose consent has been given for the submissions to be in the public domain.” Response to your request
In answer to your question 1, this information has been published online at: https://consult.gov.im/cabinet-office/smarter-use-of-your- data/consultation/published_select_respondent
Regarding question 2; responses to the consultation have been published online where consent has been given to do so, these responses can be found at https://consult.gov.im/cabinet-office/smarter- use-of-your-data/consultation/published_select_respondent.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under section 20 of the Act we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you, whether free of charge or on payment of a fee. As this information is available on the internet it is considered reasonably accessible.
If you do not have access to the internet either privately or through a public provider, for example the Welcome Centre or a library, and you require hardcopy of these responses; please use the contact details provided for each specific consultation. For the ‘Smarter Data’ consultation the contact details were change@gov.im – this mailbox is monitored by the Change and Reform Team who are also contactable on 685780. We also take this opportunity to advise that for consultations, where contact details are provided, the questions within this request and similar queries could be directed that way rather than using the freedom of information process.

Government Office DOUGLAS Isle of Man IM1 3PN Tel: (+44) 01624 686244 Fax: (+44) 01624 685710 Website www.gov.im/co
2

Under the Government consultation principles published at www.gov.im/consultation we clearly state that consultation is about making information public and encouraging engagement. As part of this process we publish responses where we have consent to do so, and make these publicly available in a timely manner. Consultation timescales are also set out in these principles, approved by the Council of Ministers in October 2017. We always aim to publish results within three months of the closing date of any consultation and this includes the number of responses received.
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 to the FOI Co-ordinator, Cabinet Office, Government Office, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 3PN. An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website https://www.gov.im/foireview. 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 apply for a review of decisions by 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 rights to review is on the Information Commissioner’s website at: https://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.