legal Aid Payments

Summary

A request was made to the Isle of Man Treasury for legal aid payment details regarding two specific law firms and cases. The authority refused to confirm or deny holding the information due to a statutory exemption under the Legal Aid Act 1986.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 2024-05-10 and responded to on 2024-06-06.
• The outcome was 'Neither confirm or deny information held'.
• The exemption is based on section 27(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• Disclosure is restricted by law under section 14 of the Legal Aid Act 1986.
• The request concerned payments to Hannan Law Advocates and Callin Wild Advocates.

Data Disclosed

• 2024-05-10
• 2024-06-06
• 3851581
• section 19
• section 27(1)(a)
• section 14
• Legal Aid Act 1986
• Freedom of Information Act 2015

Exemptions Cited

• Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Neither confirm nor deny)
• Section 27(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Disclosure restricted by law)
• Section 14 of the Legal Aid Act 1986

Original Request

How much Legal Aid has been paid to Hannan Law Advocates in respect of [REDACTED] V [REDACTED] connected to ref [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] How much Legal Aid has been paid to Callin Wild Advocates in respect of [REDACTED] V [REDACTED] connected to ref [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Seyrsnys Fysseree The Treasury Government Office, Douglas Isle of Man, IM1 3PU Telephone: (01624) 685605 Email: FOI.Treasury@gov.im Government Website: www.gov.im Our ref: 3851581 6 June 2024
Dear ### We write further to your request, received 10 May 2024, which states: "How much Legal Aid has been paid to Hannan Law Advocates in respect of ### V

connected to ref ### and ###

How much Legal Aid has been paid to Callin Wild Advocates in respect of ### V ### connected to ref ### and ### We do endeavour to provide information whenever possible. However, under section 19 of the Act, a public authority may refuse a request where to either confirm or deny whether it holds information would itself be absolutely exempt information or qualified exempt information under the Act. In this instance, if the information you requested did exist or was held by us, an exemption under section 27(1)(a) of the Act would apply to that information. This exemption would apply due to the information falling under a disclosure which is restricted by law, specifically section 14 of the Legal Aid Act 1986. Therefore if we were to confirm that the information is or isn’t held by Treasury we would contravene this section of the Legal Aid Act.
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.