Will the education bill inc sections on co-location specific to sharing of secular and faith schools

Summary

A request was made to determine if the draft Education Bill would include sections on co-location of secular and faith schools, but the Department of Education, Sport and Culture withheld the information as the bill was still in the drafting phase.

Key Facts

• The Department confirmed the draft Education Bill is still underway and final contents are not yet determined.
• It is anticipated that a public consultation exercise will occur once legal drafting is complete.
• The information was withheld to allow Ministers and Tynwald members to consider details before public release.
• The Department advised that details of the Bill will be made available to the public in due course.
• The requester was informed of their right to an internal review or appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• 2017-07-30
• 2017-08-10
• IM97050I
• Section 34
• Section 41
• 3 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 34 – Formulation of policy
• Section 41 - Information for future publication

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

10th August 2017

Dear

Re: Freedom of Information Request – Reference Number IM97050I

Your Request:-

I would like to know if the draft Education Bill that is due to go to public consultation in the summer will include sections on co-location schooling specific to campus sharing of secular and faith schools.

Department Response:-

In response to your Freedom of Information request, ref. IM97050I, I can advise that there will likely be a section on the establishment of schools but as the drafting process for the Bill is still underway the structure and final proposed contents of the Bill are yet to be determined.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under the following sections of the Act:-

 Section 34 – Formulation of policy  Section 41 - Information for future publication

However by way of advice and assistance I can advise that upon completion of the legal drafting and subsequent processes it is anticipated that there will be a public consultation exercise which will include a copy of the Bill and details of any proposed statutory changes etc.

In the circumstances it is therefore reasonable that the information be withheld from disclosure until such time as Department policy and the proposed contents of the Bill are finalised.

Public Interest Test
Sections 34 and 41 of the Act are both qualified exemptions and therefore subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:
 promoting transparency in Government’s decision-making;
 scrutinising Government’s actions and holding Government appropriately to account.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemption include:
Department of Education and Children

Rheynn Ynsee as Paitchyn

Chief Executive Officer Ronald Barr

Corporate Services Division Department of Education and Children Hamilton House Peel Road Douglas IM1 5EZ

 enabling the Minister, Members and Senior Officers of the Department and Members of Tynwald to receive briefings and to consider details of the proposed Bill before it is made publicly available; and
 facilitating orderly debate in Tynwald at the appropriate time.

The underlying purpose of the exemption in section 34 is that information and proposals under consideration for the Bill are not yet fully complete, that they are related to the ongoing formulation of Department policy and that they should not be prematurely disclosed at the current time.

The underlying purpose of the exemption in section 41 is that information, which will be discussed in a public forum at a known future date, should not be prematurely disclosed.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining both exemptions, the Department has taken the following into consideration:-

 the fact that it has already been announced that an Education Bill will feature in Government’s statutory programme and that details of the Bill will be made available to, and debated by, members of Tynwald in due course,  that details of the Bill will also available to members of the public in due course,  that access to the intended consultation process will also available to members of the public,  that members of the public may wish to carry out their own preparatory research into the rationale for any proposals being made.

After consideration of these weighting factors it is still considered reasonable that the information requested be withheld from disclosure until the Bill is ready for future Tynwald and public consideration at the appropriate time.

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 Review/Complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post to:

Mr Andrew Shipley, Legal and Administration Manager, Hamilton House, Peel Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 5EZ.

An electronic version of our Review/Complaint form can be found by going to https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Your Review/Complaint 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 conducted.

Appeal Process

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 https://www.inforights.im/contact-us/

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

Yours sincerely