Mear Voar - Planning Application Appeal

Summary

A request was made for submissions and correspondence regarding a planning application appeal (15/00124/B) to the Council of Ministers. The Cabinet Office confirmed holding the information but refused disclosure under Section 35 exemptions to protect the free and frank exchange of views in public business.

Key Facts

• The request concerned Planning Application 15/00124/B and submissions by Mr Mike Ash.
• The Cabinet Office confirmed the information is held but exempt from disclosure.
• The public interest test concluded that the risk of harm to ministerial deliberation outweighs the benefit of transparency.
• The response cites a 'chilling effect' on openness if the papers were disclosed.
• Applicants have the right to request an internal review or apply to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• 15/00124/B
• 2017-12-01
• 2018-01-19
• 2015
• IM112285I
• Section 35
• IM1 3PN

Exemptions Cited

• Section 35 Conduct of public business
• Section 35(a)
• Section 35(b)(i)
• Section 35(b)(ii)
• Section 35(c)

Original Request

Mear Voar - Planning Application Appeal 15/00124/B submissions and correspondence

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

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REFERENCE NUMBER: IM112285I

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) Thank you for your request 1 December 2017 for the following information: 1. “The submission by Mr Mike Ash concerning Planning Application 15/00124/B to the Council of Ministers in 2015. 2. Any correspondence between the above Mr Mike Ash and the Council of Ministers in 2015, concerning Planning Application 15/00124/B….”   Response to your request
We can confirm that your request for this information has been considered and that the information is held by the Cabinet Office. Section 35 Conduct of public business While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure as section 35 (a), (b)(i)&(ii) and (c) of the Act – Conduct of public business, has been engaged.
The engagement of this exemption has been considered and the public interest arguments for and against disclosure have been carried out. The findings for and against maintaining the exemptions are set out below. In this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under the above section as the disclosure of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the work of the Council of Ministers, inhibit the free and frank provision of advice or the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation or otherwise to prejudice the effective conduct of public business. As this section 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. The purpose of this exemption is to protect the free and frank provision of advice and the free and frank exchange of views for the purposes of deliberation. If the information is disclosed then it would be likely to cause constraints on the free and frank provision of advice and the free and frank exchange of views by Ministers. This may have a further consequence as it would be likely to prejudice the robustness of any advice which could affect the quality of any decision making.

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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The factors in favour of disclosure include:  A public interest in the accountability and transparency of the decision making process and how outcomes may be reached  Understanding what information has been provided to the Council of Ministers on which they have made a decision The factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include:  The placing of any undue restraints on the process poses a risk of the matter not being freely and frankly discussed  Council having the ability to conduct open and candid discussions about advice submitted to them to ensure that all aspects be fully considered, including the less obvious or potentially contentious options  The inhibition of the provision of free and frank discussion, which can damage the quality of advice provided and in turn affect the decision making process In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining the exemption, the Cabinet Office has taken the following into consideration:  Disclosure of papers for discussion by Council would be likely to have an adverse effect on discussions by Ministers  Concerns about the “chilling effect” on openness when putting matters before Council for consideration The Cabinet Office concludes that the risk of harm from disclosure outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public by the information being disclosed. In taking these considerations into account the Cabinet Office has determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.
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. 3

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.