Chief Executive salary

Summary

A request was made for the name and exact salary of the Department of Infrastructure's Chief Executive for the last financial year. The authority disclosed the name and the salary band but withheld the specific salary figure citing an absolute exemption for personal data.

Key Facts

• The Chief Executive of the Department of Infrastructure is Mr N Black.
• Mr Black's salary falls within the Jesp band 14-18.
• The exact salary figure was withheld under Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The authority rejected the requester's argument that UK law regarding salary disclosure thresholds applies.
• The Department of Infrastructure is located at Sea Terminal Building, Douglas.

Data Disclosed

• 2017-11-30
• 2017-12-11
• 1 December 2017
• 58.5
• Jesp band 14-18
• Jesp 20
• 114338
• 124371
• 95347
• 103713
• Section 25
• Data Protection Act 2002
• IM1 2RF

Exemptions Cited

• Section 25 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (absolutely exempt personal information)
• Data Protection Act 2002 (contravention of data protection principles regarding fairness and lawfulness)

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

FOI Reference No: IM112119i Request Under The Freedom Of Information Act 2015 (“The Act”)

Thank you for your request dated 1 December 2017.

Your request (sic) (numbered for ease of reference)

1. Can you advise of the name and 2. salary for the Departments Chief Executive last fincial year. There is no existing manx case law, then the Strategic Plan sets out where there is no manx law then uk law can be used. On this question the uk law defines fhat a person earning more than 58.5, the informatin i have requested is provided by uk law.

Response to your request

1. The Department of Infrastructure’s Chief Executive is Mr N Black as you can see from the Department’s webpage at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/departments/infrastructure/

2. Mr Black’s salary is within Jesp band 14-18 based on the Isle of Man Government’s Corporate Leadership Group salary band, details of which can be found by following this link https://www.gov.im/lib/docs/hr/iompsc/AnnexC1 C2/clgpayrangesapr2008.pdf A copy of this table has been attached at Appendix 1 for convenience.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because it is absolutely exempt under section 25 of the Act (absolutely exempt personal information). The reasons why that exemption applies are that the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) is satisfied that the information amounts to personal data under the Data Protection Act 2002. The DOI is satisfied that disclosure of the information would contravene one of the data protection principles, namely that DOI can only disclose the information where it would be fair, lawful and meet one of the conditions in schedule 2 and in this case, none of those conditions have been met.

Despite your assertion, the UK law you refer to does not apply. While s25 of the Freedom of Information Act is an Absolute Exemption and therefore does not require a Public Interest Test, we are happy to explain why we believe it would be unfair to disclose the salary of any individual.

 An individual has a general expectation that the level of their salary will remain private. Disclosure of this information would contravene that expectation and cause an intrusion into the privacy of the data subject which may lead to some distress.  While the role is public facing, with a greater degree of accountability, the exact level of salary is of a private nature and is at the same grade as other non-public facing roles.  The information was obtained in circumstances that imply a duty of confidentiality and it is expected that the information would remain confidential.  There is no legitimate interest in disclosure of the exact figure that isn’t met in any event by the information being disclosed in response to this request.  While the Freedom of Information Act 2015 promotes transparency and accountability and therefore there may be some public interest in the Chief Executive’s salary being disclosed, it is not sufficient to outweigh an individual’s right for this information to remain private.

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 to foi.doi@gov.im or by delivery/post to The FOI Co-ordinator, Department of Infrastructure, Sea Terminal Buildings, Douglas, IM1 2RF. An electronic version and paper version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at www.gov.im/foireview

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 at https://www.gov.im/about-the-government/freedom-of-information/

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Response Team

APPENDIX 1 CORPORATE LEADERSHIP GROUP BAND Point Salary Point Salary Point Salary Point Salary Point Salary Jesp 20 1 114338 1 116625 1 118958 1 121575 1 124371 2 120037 2 122438 2 124887 2 127635 2 130571 3 125733 3 128247 3 130812 3 133690 3 136765 4 131430 4 134059 4 136740 4 139748 4 142962 5 137126 5 139869 5 142666 5 145805 5 149159 6 142825 6 145682 6 148596 6 151865 6 155358 Jesp 14 - 18 1 95347 1 97254 1 99199 1 101381 1 103713 2 100095 2 102097 2 104139 2 106430 2 108878 3 104843 3 106940 3 109079 3 111479 3 114043 4 109589 4 111781 4 114017 4 116525 4 119205 5 114337 5 116624 5 118956 5 121573 5 124369 6 119085 6 121467 6 123896 6 126622 6 129534 Jesp 9 - 13 1 76448 1 77977 1 79537 1 81287 1 83157 2 80251 2 81856 2 83493 2 85330 2 87293 3 84054 3 85735 3 87450 3 89374 3 91430 4 87856 4 89613 4 91405 4 93416 4 95565 5 91659 5 93492 5 95362 5 97460 5 99702 6 95461 6 97370 6 99317 6 101502 6 103837 Jesp 5 - 8 1 58933 1 60112 1 61314 1 62663 1 64104 2 61858 2 63095 2 64357 2 65773 2 67286 3 64786 3 66082 3 67404 3 68887 3 70471 4 67712 4 69066 4 70447 4 71997 4 73653 5 70638 5 72051 5 73492 5 75109 5 76837 6 73565 6 75036 6 76537 6 78221 6 80020 01-Apr-17 01-Apr-16 01-Apr-15 01-Apr-14 01-Apr-13