Council of Ministers – process for the appointment of the Information Commissioner and relevant paper

Summary

The request sought the appointment process for the Information Commissioner and a specific Cabinet Office paper; the process was directed to existing legislation while the paper was withheld as exempt personal data.

Key Facts

• The appointment process is publicly available in Schedule 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The requested Cabinet Office paper was withheld under section 25(2) of the Act.
• The exemption applies because the information constitutes personal data under the Data Protection Act 2002.
• Disclosure of the paper would contravene data protection principles regarding fairness and lawfulness.
• The request was received on 12 December 2017 and the final outcome was issued on 22 February 2018.

Data Disclosed

• 12 December 2017
• 22 February 2018
• IM113480I
• Section 20
• Section 25(2)
• Schedule 2
• Page 48
• 2015
• 2002
• IM1 3PN

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (information reasonably accessible)
• Section 25(2) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Data Protection Act 2002 (data protection principles)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

1

REFERENCE NUMBER: IM113480I

REQUEST UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2015 (“the Act”) Thank you for your request on 12 December 2017, regarding the following information:
“In August Council of Ministers – the Process was agreed for the appointment of the Information Commissioner. Please supply a copy of the agreed process for this appointment and a copy of the paper submitted by the Cabinet Office.” Response to your request
Process for the appointment of the Information Commissioner 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. The process for the appointment of the Information Commissioner is set out in Schedule 2 to the Freedom of Information Act 2015, which is available by clicking on the following link. Schedule 2 can be found at page 48. https://legislation.gov.im/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/2015/2015- 0008/FreedomofInformationAct2015_6.pdf A copy of the paper submitted by the Cabinet Office With reference to the second part of your request, while our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide the remaining information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25(2) of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that
- The Cabinet Office is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data under the Data Protection Act 2002. - 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 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met. Your right to request a review

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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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.