political asylum claims due to Isle of Man Government corruption
| Authority | Cabinet Office |
|---|---|
| Date received | 2024-04-23 |
| Outcome | Information not held |
| Outcome date | 2024-05-24 |
| Case ID | 3820593 |
Summary
The requester asked for statistics on political asylum claims by Isle of Man residents against the government due to corruption for 2021-2023, but the Cabinet Office responded that no such information is held because asylum claims cannot be made within the Isle of Man.
Key Facts
- The Cabinet Office does not hold information on political asylum claims by Isle of Man residents against the government.
- Asylum claims by Isle of Man residents must be made in another country, not within the Isle of Man.
- The authority noted the request contained unfounded accusations of government corruption.
- The request was considered potentially vexatious under section 11(3)(d) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015, but a practical refusal was not applied.
- The requester had been previously warned on 13 February 2023 regarding the inclusion of unfounded accusations in requests.
Data Disclosed
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024-04-23
- 2024-05-24
- 13 February 2023
- 3820593
- section 11(3)(d)
- section 60
Exemptions Cited
- Information not held
- Section 11(3)(d) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (considered but not applied)
Original Request
18:17 23/04/2024 Please supply in the most recent 3 full calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (1) the total political asylum claims by Isle of Man residents against the Isle of Man Government by jurisdiction and (2) the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption if available by jurisdiction. Please supply any reports or filenotes or email threads on either inward or outward "political asylum" or similar terms to exclude war refugee specific matters such as Ukraine and Israel/Gaza. 18:20 23/04/2024 amendment to help clarify and to refine the information "Please supply in the most recent 3 full calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (1) the actual or estimated total political asylum claims and self-imposed exile status by Isle of Man residents against the Isle of Man Government by jurisdiction and (2) the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption if available by jurisdiction. Please supply any reports or filenotes or email threads on either inward or outward "political asylum" or "asylum" or "exile" or similar terms to exclude war refugee specific matters such as Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.".
Data Tables (3)
| I refer to previous communications regarding freedom of information requests where |
|---|
| you were advised under section 11(3)(d) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the |
| Act), a public authority may refuse to give the information requested in the request for |
| information if it is considered vexatious, malicious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in |
| substance. |
| Examples of factors which a public authority may take into account in determining if |
| your request is vexatious etc. are set out in the Code of Practice issued under section |
| 60 of the Act, which you can find here: https://www.gov.im/media/1358113/foia-code- |
| ofpractice.pdf. |
| An indicator that a request might be vexatious, as set out in the Code, has been met, |
|---|
| in your request above, namely that your request makes unfounded accusations. In |
| particular, the phrase “the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption” is |
| considered to be unfounded. |
| The Refugee Council (source, refugeecouncil.org.uk) defines a person seeking asylum |
|---|
| as “a person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum in |
| another country but whose application has not yet been concluded”. If/when a claim |
| for asylum has been granted, then these individuals would be classed as refugees. |
| It is the case that any asylum claim made by an Isle of Man resident would not be |
| made in the Isle of Man, and for that reason, no information relating to this request is |
| held by the Cabinet Office. |
Full Response Text
Government Office
Douglas
Isle of Man
IM1 3PN
Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244
Website: www.gov.im/co
Our ref: 3820593 22 May 2024
Dear ###
We write further to your request received 23 April 2024, which states:
"18:17 23/04/2024
Please supply in the most recent 3 full calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (1) the total political asylum claims by Isle of Man residents against the Isle of Man Government by jurisdiction and (2) the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption if available by jurisdiction.
Please supply any reports or filenotes or email threads on either inward or outward "political asylum" or similar terms to exclude war refugee specific matters such as Ukraine and Israel/Gaza.
18:20 23/04/2024
amendment to help clarify and to refine the information
"Please supply in the most recent 3 full calendar years 2021, 2022 and 2023 (1) the actual or estimated total political asylum claims and self-imposed exile status by Isle of Man residents against the Isle of Man Government by jurisdiction and (2) the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption if available by jurisdiction.
Please supply any reports or filenotes or email threads on either inward or outward "political asylum" or "asylum" or "exile" or similar terms to exclude war refugee specific matters such as Ukraine and Israel/Gaza."."
I refer to previous communications regarding freedom of information requests where
you were advised under section 11(3)(d) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (the
Act), a public authority may refuse to give the information requested in the request for
information if it is considered vexatious, malicious, frivolous, misconceived or lacking in
substance.
Examples of factors which a public authority may take into account in determining if
your request is vexatious etc. are set out in the Code of Practice issued under section
60 of the Act, which you can find here: https://www.gov.im/media/1358113/foia-code-
ofpractice.pdf.
An indicator that a request might be vexatious, as set out in the Code, has been met, in your request above, namely that your request makes unfounded accusations. In particular, the phrase “the subtotal due to Isle of Man Government corruption” is considered to be unfounded. You have been previously warned against including extensive extraneous information, comment and unfounded accusation in requests, on 13 February 2023 and have been urged on a number of prior occasions to this to ensure that your requests are submitted in accordance with guidance provided by the Information Commissioner and Isle of Man Government, online links to which you have been provided.
We note that in this instance the request, 3820593, was made by yourself and then amended and submitted again in an attempt to clarify.
Cabinet Office has considered that a practical refusal reason could have applied to this request and considered if it is vexatious, malicious, misconceived or lacking in substance, noting that your request makes unfounded accusations of corruption relating to the Isle of Man Government.
Although the Cabinet Office has considered there are elements of this request that could be determined vexatious, the practical refusal reason has not been applied on this occasion. However, we would re-iterate the warning issued to you on 13 February 2023 and on previous occasions and again we offer advice and assistance regarding vexatious requests above, and remind you of how to submit a request which was sent to you previously.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Cabinet Office does not hold the information that you have requested.
The Refugee Council (source, refugeecouncil.org.uk) defines a person seeking asylum
as “a person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum in
another country but whose application has not yet been concluded”. If/when a claim
for asylum has been granted, then these individuals would be classed as refugees.
It is the case that any asylum claim made by an Isle of Man resident would not be
made in the Isle of Man, and for that reason, no information relating to this request is
held by the Cabinet Office.
Should you wish to submit any further requests, noting the contents of this letter,
please complete and submit the required form available on our website at:
www.gov.im/aboutthe-government/freedom-of-information/make-a-freedom-of-
information-request/. Should you require any assistance to formulate your request,
please contact us by phone or e-mail.
Please quote the reference number 3820593 in any future communications.
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.
An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. 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 right to a review can be found 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
www.gov.im/foi.
I will now close your request as of this date.
Yours sincerely