Value of estates registered for probate in the Isle of Man in recent years.

Summary

The requester asked for statistical analysis of estate values registered for probate in the Isle of Man between 2013 and 2016. The Department for Enterprise refused to provide the data, citing that the information is publicly accessible via the Probate Registry indexes and is therefore exempt under Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014.

Key Facts

• The Department for Enterprise holds no pre-existing statistical analysis of estate values.
• Probate records are searchable by date of grant or death and include gross estate values in five bands.
• The information was withheld under Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 as it is accessible by other means.
• The Isle of Man Courts of Justice are responsible for granting probate but are not currently subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
• The Probate Registry is located in the Registries Building on Deemsters Walk in Douglas.

Data Disclosed

• 2013
• 2014
• 2015
• 2016
• 2017-03-30
• 2017-04-12
• £0 - £100,000
• £100,000 - £249,999
• £250,000- £499,999
• £500,000 - £999,999
• £1 million +
• Section 20
• Freedom of Information Act 2014
• Freedom of Information Act 2015
• 9.30am to 4.30pm
• 9.30am to 4pm

Exemptions Cited

• Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (Information accessible to applicant by other means)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Page 1 of 3

Date: 12 April 2017

Dear

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

Thank you for your request dated 30 March 2017. Your request Your request was as follows: “I wish to understand the situation as regards the value of estates registered for probate on the IOM in recent years, and assume Government keeps a record of all such probate applications.

Does this include any analysis of applications by value ? And is this in a format of a table such as shown below ??

Estate Value Number of Estates

                              2013       2014       2015       2016

£0 - £100,000

£100,000 - £249,999

£250,000- £499,999

£500,000 - £999,999

£1 million +

etc ??

If not in a format such as above, what information, statistical or otherwise, is available concerning probate valuations on the island?” Department of Economic Development Rheynn Lhiasaghey Tarmaynagh

Steven Tallach Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor St Georges Court Upper Church Street Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624) 685375
Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

Page 2 of 3

Response to your request
We regret the Registry has no statistical analysis of the value of estates. The information which you have requested can however be extracted from publicly available records and indexes held in the Probate Registry which is part of the Deeds Registry. Public indexes at the Registry allow probate records to be searched by the date on which probate was granted and/or date of death. The indexes also record the gross value of the estate within five bands. The Deeds and Probate Registry is located in the same office as the Land Registry in the Registries Building on Deemsters Walk, just off Bucks Road, next to the Courts of Justice in Douglas and the public opening hours of the Registry are Monday to Thursday 9.30am to 4.30pm and Friday 9.30am to 4pm. Therefore the Department considers that the information we hold is absolutely exempt under section 20 the Freedom of Information Act 2014 (“Information accessible to applicant by other means”) as it is publicly available from the Registry. It should be noted that it is the Isle of Man Courts of Justice that are responsible for granting probate and they may be able to provide more information on this. The contact details for the Courts are as follows: Isle of Man Courts of Justice Deemsters Walk Bucks Road Douglas IM1 3AR

Tel: 01624 685265 Email: enquiries@courts.im

The Courts of Justice are not currently subject to Freedom of Information. However it may be that the information is accessible under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information: https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/existing-access-to-government-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 me at the address set out at the top of this letter. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website here: https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/freedom-of-information- review-request-january-1-2017/

Page 3 of 3

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; 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: 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 www.gov.im/foi.

Yours sincerely

Steven Tallach Freedom of Information Co-ordinator