How many out of Catchment Requests requests have been made and approved (14/6/17 to date (St Thomas/Vall

Summary

The request sought details on out-of-catchment school applications for Scoill Vallajeelt linked to the St Thomas' relocation proposal between June 2017 and August 2017. The Department of Education partially disclosed that fewer than 5 applications were received and approved, all citing the relocation, but withheld specific dates and individual details due to privacy exemptions.

Key Facts

• Less than 5 out-of-catchment applications were received for Scoill Vallajeelt between 14 June 2017 and 30 August 2017.
• All received out-of-catchment applications were approved.
• Every approved application cited the proposed relocation of St Thomas' school as a factor.
• Specific dates of receipt and individual applicant details were withheld to prevent identification.
• The Department plans to hold an open evening and issue a public notice regarding the relocation in the Autumn term.

Data Disclosed

• 14 June 2017
• 30 August 2017
• less than 5
• Section 39 (1)
• Section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002
• September 2017

Exemptions Cited

• Section 39 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act (exempt personal information)
• Section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002 (rights of privacy)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

30th August 2017

Re: Freedom of Information Request – Reference Number IM00541I

Your Request:-

For the period from June 14 2017 to time of writing, please confirm how many out of catchment area applications were received by the department for pupils either currently educated at Scoill Vallajeelt, or due to commence September 2017. Please confirm the date of receipt of each application, whether they were successful, and if the proposed relocation of St Thomas' was stated as a factor in the submitted application.

Department Response:-

I can advise that we are refusing to disclose some of the information requested in your Freedom of Information request on the grounds of a qualified exemption under Section 39 (1) of the Act (exempt personal information).

This is because the relatively low number of out of catchment applications made in respect of pupils currently educated/due to commence at Scoill Vallajeelt may make identification of an individual or individuals possible and this would constitute personal data to which you are not entitled and disclosure of this data would likely cause damage or distress to the data subject(s).

(Partial disclosure) - I can however disclose that less than 5 out of catchment area application requests were received between 14th June 2017 and the time of your request. All of those received were approved and all cited the proposed relocation of St Thomas’ school as a factor in the application.

Public Interest Test
Sections 39 of the Act is a qualified exemption and is 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:
 assessing the public interest local to the schools and any impacts arising from the Department’s proposal to relocate St Thomas’ school to Scoill Vallajeelt  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:  upholding individuals’ rights of privacy under section 8 of the Data Protection Act 2002  no entitlement by you to the information (as you are not the data subject) Department of Education and Children

Rheynn Ynsee as Paitchyn

 future plans by the Department to hold an open evening with residents during the Autumn term  future plans by the Department to issue a public notice to give people the opportunity to comment upon the relocation proposal

(* see FoI response IM96933I at https://www.gov.im/media/1358158/st- thomas-and-scoill-vallajeelt-question-about-stakeholder-consultation.pdf)

The underlying purposes of the exemption in section 39 is that:-  there is no entitlement to information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject  other data subject’s rights should be protected and they would be entitled to prevent disclosure of the information if they are or could be identified as a result of the disclosure.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each of the factors in favour of disclosing the information and maintaining both exemptions, we have taken the view that the rights of other data subjects be maintained, to preserve their privacy and to ensure that disclosure of data that might otherwise identify them does not cause them damage or distress. After consideration of these weighting factors we consider that the partial disclosure contained in this response is reasonable as it provides some relevant information towards the public interest in this matter.

This information will also be published on the Government website in due course should you wish to revisit the information.

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