Council of Ministers’ Legislation Sub-Committee; details and minutes

Summary

The request sought details on the creation, membership, meeting dates, and minutes of the Council of Ministers' Legislation Sub-Committee. The authority disclosed the committee's history, current members, and a list of meeting dates, but withheld the minutes pending further clarification from the requester.

Key Facts

• The Council of Ministers Legislation Sub-Committee first met on 23 March 2015.
• The Minister for Policy and Reform serves as the Chair of the Sub-Committee.
• Meetings are required to take place no less than quarterly with a quorum of a majority of Ministers.
• The authority requested clarification on the scope of the minutes before releasing them.
• The response was issued under the Freedom of Information Act 2015.

Data Disclosed

• 23 March 2015
• 27 October 2016
• 24 November 2016
• 24 November 2017
• 22 December 2017
• 23 November 2017
• 24 November 2016
• 31 January 2017
• 20 March 2017
• 24 April 2017
• 22 May 2017
• 19 June 2017
• 17 July 2017
• 23 August 2017
• 19 September 2017
• 29 November 2017
• IM111291I

Data Tables (7)

Full Response Text

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REFERENCE NUMBER: IM111291I

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) Thank you for your request 23 November 2017 for the following information: “Regarding the Council of Ministers’ Legislation Sub-Committee. Please can you provide details of: a) when this was first created b) the current members c) the dates on which meetings were held between November 2016 to date d) minutes of each of those meetings” Response to your request
Please find below information requested.
(a) The Council of Ministers Legislation Sub-Committee first met on 23 March 2015, comprising the Minister for Policy and Reform, the Chair of the Council of Ministers’ Social Policy and Children’s Committee, the Chair of the Council of Ministers’ Environment and Infrastructure Committee, representatives from the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Cabinet Office.
There were a number of informal meetings during that year to monitor the progress of the Legislation Programme as part of the Agenda for Change.

(b) The current Political membership was agreed at the Council of Ministers meeting 27 October 2016 representing Ministerial members of the Council of Ministers Sub Committees [National Strategy Group; Environment and Infrastructure Committee; Social Policy and Children’s Committee]:  Minister for Policy and Reform Hon C C Thomas MHK  Minister for Home Affairs Hon W M Malarkey MHK  Minister for Infrastructure Hon R K Harmer MHK

The Terms of Reference was agreed by the Sub Committee at the first formal meeting on 24 November 2016 and confirms the membership as follows:  Minister for Policy and Reform (as Chair)
 Two Ministers  Her Majesty’s Attorney General, Attorney General’s Chambers  Chief Legislative Drafter, Attorney General’s Chambers  Director of Change and Reform, Cabinet Office

Government Office DOUGLAS Isle of Man IM1 3PN Tel: (+44) 01624 686244 Fax: (+44) 01624 685710 Website www.gov.im/co
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 Secretary to Council, Cabinet Office  Note-taker, Cabinet Office

(c) The Terms of Reference provide for meetings of the Sub-Committee to take place no less than quarterly. A quorum is stated as ‘a majority of the Ministers must be present’. List of dates of meetings held since November 2016:  24 November 2016  31 January 2017  20 March 2017  24 April 2017  22 May 2017  19 June 2017  17 July 2017  23 August 2017  19 September 2017  29 November 2017

(d) We sent you an email on 24 November 2017 requesting further details on this question of your request – please see the attached copy for reference.
However to provide some help and assistance, and as the information for questions a), b) & c) is now available, we have produced this response and split your request, in the hope that the detail assists with the clarification process for question d).
Please note that we will respond to question d) of your request separately, once you are able to supply any such clarification; to be clear the deadline for us to receive this is on or before 22 December 2017.

Your right to request a review
If you are unhappy with this response, for parts (a) (b) or (c), of 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.
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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. 1

REFERENCE NUMBER: IM111291I

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”)

Thank you for your request dated 23 November 2017 for the following information (subsequent clarification is shown in bold): “Regarding the Council of Ministers’ Legislation Sub-Committee. Please can you provide details of

a. when this was first created b. the current members c. the dates on which meetings were held between November 2016 to dates d. (from November 2016) minutes of each of those meetings that refer to: • Legislative Programme (as part of the Programme for Government) • Primary Legislation • Secondary Legislation”

Response to your request
This response is in addition to our previous letter of 6 December 2017 where parts a-c were provided in full. With reference to part (d) of your request, please find attached some of the information you have requested.
Further to the clarification received, where the information concerns Council of Ministers submission processes, the legislative drafting processes and/or subcommittee administrative matters, they been have considered ‘out of scope’ of your request. While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the following exemptions under the Act have been engaged:  Section 20 - Information accessible to the applicant by other means  Section 25 – Absolutely exempt personal information  Section 34 - Formulation of policy  Section 35 - Conduct of public business Section 20 - Information accessible to the applicant by other means

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. In relation to the following information, links to the Government website, where the information is published, have been provided.

Government Office DOUGLAS Isle of Man IM1 3PN Tel: (+44) 01624 686244 Fax: (+44) 01624 685710 Website www.gov.im/co
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 Meeting 24 November 2016; Minute Number 002/16 - Tables A and B form the Legislation Programme within the Programme for Government published here:

https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/government/the-council-of- ministers/programme-for-government/

 Parts of Table C are now included in the updated Legislation Programme in the Mid-Year Report published here:

https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/government/the-council-of- ministers/programme-for-government-policy-overview-2016-2021/

 Meeting 23 August 2017; Minute Number 045/17 – “Following discussion and noting that further consideration was required the list read…” The list mentioned is included in the updated Legislation Programme in the Mid-Year Report published here:

https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/government/the-council-of- ministers/programme-for-government-policy-overview-2016-2021/

Section 25 – Absolutely exempt personal information

The reasons why that exemption applies are that the Cabinet Office is satisfied that some of the information constitutes personal data under the Data Protection Act 2002.

• The Cabinet Office is satisfied that in such individual cases the information amounts to personal data under the Data Protection Act 2002 (DPA)
• The Cabinet Office is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles, namely that Cabinet Office can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions in schedule 2 of the DPA and in this case, none of those conditions have been met

The exemption has been applied to the names of Cabinet Office staff, on a case by case basis. When deciding on whether it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions in schedule 2 of the DPA, the following factors have been considered:

 Seniority  Extent of public facing nature of the role  Expectation of privacy  Potential harm that could be caused by disclosing that person’s name

Section 34 - Formulation of policy In respect of the qualified exemptions applied under section 34 (b)(i) and (ii), the information is exempt from disclosure as the information relates to the formulation or development of government policy and/or communications between Ministers (including, in particular, the proceedings of the Council of Ministers or of any committee of the Council of Ministers).

In assessing each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information or maintaining the exemption, the Cabinet Office has taken the following into consideration:

 Effective policy formulation and decision making requires the consideration of a wide range of options and the ability to discuss matters without compromising or limiting free and frank 3

discussion. Allowing this to happen within a safe space where matters can be discussed, free from exposure to public view and debate, is imperative.

 The assessment of options, along with the associated risks and benefits, without the potential for disclosure, is imperative to ensure free and frank discussion and that deliberations are not prejudiced. Disclosure at this stage may undermine the public interest in Government decisions being based on the open and transparent provision of advice and information

 Disclosure of any information in respect a decision may result in public debate which can then make it difficult to consider options objectively. It may also inhibit the provision of free and frank discussions between officers which can impact the quality of the advice provided and in turn affect the decision making process. This is particularly important when the matter being considered is live and in the early stages of legislation policy formulation

As this is a qualified exemption it is subject to a public interest test. The Cabinet Office has considered the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption and the factors in favour of disclosing the information and provides these considerations at Appendix A.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the arguments for maintaining the exemption the Cabinet Office has considered the following:  Disclosure of information during the consideration of prospective legislation in the early conceptual stages may inhibit free and frank exchange of views and impact the objectivity of discussions and quality of decision making with the Sub-Committee of Council  The Sub-Committee of Council must be a safe space within which to consider and explore a range of potential options, and the implications of each  Early public exposure of the information concerning deliberations may compromise candid and robust discussions, particularly in respect of the timing of the request if the matter is live  The need to prevent a ‘chilling effect’ on free and frank debate, and the provision of candid advice, in the future  Legislation is subject to public consultation, as such there is an opportunity for views to be provided on either the policy principles which underpin a Bill or on a draft version of the Bill

The Cabinet Office, having considered the exemptions and assessed the weighting of the public interest, including the risk of harm from disclosure, has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public by the information being disclosed.

Section 35 - Conduct of public business
In respect of the qualified exemptions applied under section 35 (b)(ii), the information is exempt from disclosure as the release of the information would be likely to inhibit the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation.

In assessing each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information or maintaining the exemption, the Cabinet Office has taken the following into consideration:

 Safeguarding the free and frank provision of advice and the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation by the Sub-Committee in relation to the development of legislation 4

 Disclosure would be likely to frustrate the free and frank provision of advice by officers and the free and frank exchange of views within the Sub-Committee  Disclosure would also be likely to prejudice the robustness and candidness of advice given by officers which could affect the quality of decision making

As this is a qualified exemption it is subject to a public interest test. The Cabinet Office has considered the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption and the factors in favour of disclosing the information and provides these considerations at Appendix A.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the arguments for maintaining the exemption the Cabinet Office has considered the following:

 Whether the disclosure of the information would prejudice the exchange of views during discussion of legislation, now or in the future  That there needs to be a space within which the Sub-Committee can discuss policy options freely and frankly as well as considering any arguments relating to specific policies  Disclosure may result in a reluctance to candidly challenge policies and proposals including, consideration of the implications which may undermine the future success of that policy/proposal if disclosed  The potential to undermine the collective responsibility of the Sub-Committee  The potential harm caused by disclosure on the course of a particular policy

The Cabinet Office, having considered the exemptions and assessed the weighting of the public interest, including the risk of harm from disclosure, has concluded that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public by the information being disclosed.

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