Spreadsheet Costings knockaloe site and Anderson Land

Summary

A request for 25-year whole life cost spreadsheets for proposed sewage works at Knockaloe and Anderson Land was partially fulfilled, with specific budget estimates withheld due to commercial sensitivity and other data confirmed as not held.

Key Facts

• Manx Utilities Authority responded to a Freedom of Information request regarding regional sewage treatment strategy costings.
• Some information was provided, but specific budget estimates for land acquisition and capital purchases were exempted.
• The authority cited ongoing speculative negotiations with land owners as a reason for withholding commercial data.
• Disclosure was deemed likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island and provide unfair competitive advantage.
• Cost estimates for specific rising main pipeline options were confirmed as not held by the authority.

Data Disclosed

• 25 year
• 2017-08-31
• 2017-09-19
• IM101028I
• 6 pages
• 1 document
• section 30(2)(b)
• section 30(1)(a)
• section 8(3)a

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30(2)(b) - Commercial interests
• Section 30(1)(a) - Economic interests of the island
• Section 8(3)a - Information not held

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Manx Utilities • PO Box 177 • Douglas • Isle of Man • IM99 1PS e: foi@manxutilities.im • t: 687687 • www.manxutilities.im

REFERENCE NUMBER IM101028I

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

Thank you for your online application dated 31 August 2017 requesting the following information

‘Please provide 25 year whole life spreadsheet costings for the following: 1. Proposed regional sewage works located at Knockaloe Farm. 2. Proposed regional sewage works located at Anderson land Peel. 3. Rising Main Peel pumping station to STW referred to in 1 &2 4. Rising main regional STW referred to in 1 &2 to effluent discharge location.

Response to Your Request

Questions 1 and 2

Our aim is to provide information whenever possible and the information we are able to provide is appended to this letter. In this instance, some of the information is exempt from disclosure under sections 30(2)(b) and 30(1)(a) of the Act as its disclosure would prejudice the commercial interests of Manx Utilities and would be likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island.

Assessment of 30(2)(b)

A disclosure under the Act is deemed to be a disclosure to the world rather than a disclosure to an individual requestor.

Manx Utilities is currently undertaking speculative negotiations with land owners in order to acquire land which is crucial to the implementation of the Regional Sewage Treatment Strategy-Phase 2 (RSTS2) as set out in the Programme for Government.

Following a successful land acquisition process, future tender exercises with contracted service providers will be undertaken, which are also required for the successful implementation of the RSTS2 programme.

The commercial sensitivity of these processes requires a cautious approach. Disclosure of budget estimates relating to capital purchases will prejudice the commercial interest of Manx Utilities in that it would provide unfair competitive advantage to people with an interest in selling their land and to potential contracted service providers. This will limit the ability to achieve cost effective solutions.

Assessment of 30 (1)(a)

The most appropriate financial outcome for Manx Utilities ultimately presents the most appropriate financial outcome for Manx Utilities customers i.e. Island residents. Inability to achieve this is likely to be of detriment to Island residents as additional costs would have to be passed on to the end user.

These exemptions are qualified exemptions, and as such, are subject to the public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large and not merely something of individual interest.

Public Interest Test

Factors in favour of disclosing the information include:

• To promote transparency of decision making in Government and the reasoning behind any decisions which are taken. • To scrutinise the actions of Government and be able to hold Government to account for its decision making. • Securing the best use of public resources.

Factors in favour of maintaining the exemptions include:

• The underlying purpose of these exemptions is to protect the economy and commercial interests. • Disclosure of this information could be used to achieve individual competitive advantage. • The disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the acquisition of land which is necessary for the successful implementation of RSTS2. • The disclosure of this information is likely to prejudice the success of future tendering processes, which are necessary for the successful implementation of RSTS2. • Progression of the RSTS2 programme has reached a critical stage and the immediate nature of the commercial sensitivity associated with the tendering processes outweigh public interest. • Disclosure of this information will not only affect Manx Utilities but also Island residents. • This information will ultimately reside in the public domain, at which point, it will be open to public scrutiny. • There is no evidence to suggest that disclosure of this information will serve a wider public interest.

In assessing the weight to be attributed to each aspect of these arguments, Manx Utilities has considered that disclosure of the information subject to the prejudice based qualified exemptions has the potential to cause harm to a crucial Island infrastructure programme and the associated commercial sensitivities.

Manx Utilities concludes that the risk of harm from disclosure outweighs any benefit that could be gained by the general public as a result of the information being disclosed.

Taking these considerations into account Manx Utilities has determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemptions outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Questions 3 and 4

In relation to the rising main from the Peel pumping station to the proposed sewerage treatment works and the rising main from the proposed sewage treatment works to the effluent discharge location in questions 1 and 2; whilst our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance, under section 8(3)a of the Act, we confirm that Manx Utilities does not hold the information you have requested as we do not have single cost estimates for the various pipeline options.

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 at the address or email below. An electronic and paper version of our complaint form can also be found on our website. If you would like a paper version of our complaint form sent to you by post, please don’t hesitate to let us know. 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 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: www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely

Coordination Team