Arbory catchment area

Summary

A request was made to determine the number of primary school-aged children living in the Arbory catchment area who attend schools outside that area. The Department of Education refused the request, citing that the information is not held in the required format and compiling it would require substantial analysis not mandated by the Freedom of Information Act.

Key Facts

• The request sought data on 'out of catchment' primary school students in the Arbory area.
• The Department of Education refused the request under section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The refusal was based on the 'practical refusal' ground that the department does not hold the specific compiled information.
• Creating the data would require deriving information, research, and substantial collation, which is exempt under section 8(3).
• A postcode-only analysis was deemed potentially misleading due to families moving while keeping children at their original schools.

Data Disclosed

• 2017-08-31
• 2017-09-19
• IM101070I
• 354919
• section 11(3)(a)
• section 8(3)
• 2 pages
• 1 document

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Practical refusal reason)
• Section 8(3) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Exemption for creating or deriving information)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

19th September 2017

Re: Freedom of Information Request – Reference Number IM101070I

Your Request:-

I would like to know how many primary school-aged children who are living within the Arbory Primary School catchment area are attending schools outside the Arbory School catchment area (ie they are considered to be 'out of catchment' in their current schools).

Department Response:-

Whilst our aim is to provide information whenever possible the Freedom of Information Act 2015 makes provision for public authorities to refuse to release information on grounds where the information is absolutely exempt information or where a qualified exemption may apply.

In this instance, the Department is refusing your request on the grounds that a practical refusal reason applies under section 11(3) (a) of the Act, namely that the Department of Education and Children does not hold all of the information that you have requested, as:-

 the Department is not statutorily required to hold all of the information requested or to analyse any of the information that is held (e.g. pupil addresses and postcodes relative to the nearest catchment school)

 to undertake compilation and analysis of information that is held to the level of detail requested would require the Department to do something it is not required to do per section 8(3) of the Act, i.e.:-

o analysis of data that is held would require the Department to:-  create or derive information from information that it holds  undertake research into, or analysis of, information that it holds  undertake substantial compilation or collation of information that it holds.

Additional practical reasons also apply to the request made, such as: whilst schools are required to hold names and addresses on a register of pupils there are circumstances where analysis of address/postcode information relative to the catchment area school could be misleading:

for example: if a child of primary school age now lives within the Arbory Primary School catchment and attends a school outside of the Arbory School catchment area (i.e. the family have moved house but have decided to leave their child at the school they originally enrolled at).
Department of Education and Children

Rheynn Ynsee as Paitchyn

A post-code only analysis from the Department or schools’ records would therefore not give a true representation of the numbers requested and could only be achieved through significant analysis of data held by the schools. A practical refusal reason therefore applies under section 11(3) of the Act.

The information provided within this response letter 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