Unpublished FOI requests

AuthorityDepartment for Enterprise
Date received2018-04-04
OutcomeSome information sent but part exempt
Outcome date2018-04-30
Case ID395235

Summary

The requester asked for statistics on Freedom of Information requests received, refused, answered, and published by the Department for Enterprise over the previous 12 months. The authority provided a detailed breakdown of request outcomes, noting that while some information was exempt, all responses had since been published on the government log.

Key Facts

  • The request covered the 12-month period prior to 26 March 2018.
  • A total of 31 FOI requests were received by the Department for Enterprise.
  • 11 requests resulted in all information being sent to the requester.
  • 8 requests were partially exempt, meaning some information was withheld.
  • At the time of the response, 8 FOI responses had not yet been published, though all were published by the time of the letter.

Data Disclosed

  • 31
  • 11
  • 2
  • 1
  • 5
  • 4
  • 0
  • 8
  • 2018-04-04
  • 2018-04-30
  • 2018-03-26
  • 2018-03-27
  • 2018-03-29
  • 395235
  • section 20
  • Freedom of Information Act 2015

Exemptions Cited

  • Information already reasonably accessible (Section 20 of the Act)
  • Partial exemptions applied to 8 requests
  • 5 requests where all held information was exempt
  • 1 'neither confirm nor deny' response

Original Request

For each of the last 12 months, how many Freedom of Information requests have been: (a) received (b) refused (c) answered (d) published on the government website Clarification letter suggested using the following categories: "All information sent Information not held No information sent - all held but exempt Not required to fulfil request Some information sent but not all held Some information sent but part exempt" The requester responded: "Essentially, the figures I'm looking for are for queries that couldn't be answered (for any reason), requests which were answered (in full or in part) and those which were answered but not published online on the government's FOI hub. The categories you've listed in your response are fine, thank you."

Data Tables (1)

Total number of requests received 31
Number of responses where all information was sent 11
Number of responses where information was not held 2
Number of “neither confirm nor deny” responses” 1
Number of responses where no information was sent (all held but exempt) 5
Number of responses where the request lapsed1 or was withdrawn 4
Number of requests where some information was sent, but not all was held 0
Number of requests where some information was sent, but some was exempt. 8

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 685375) Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

Our ref: 395235 23 April 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 27 March 2018 and which states:

"For each of the last 12 months, how many Freedom of Information requests have been: (a) received (b) refused (c) answered (d) published on the government website I wrote to you on 29 March to seek clarification and to suggest the following more inclusive categories, including: "All information sent Information not held No information sent - all held but exempt Not required to fulfil request Some information sent but not all held Some information sent but part exempt" You responded: "Essentially, the figures I'm looking for are for queries that couldn't be answered (for any reason), requests which were answered (in full or in part) and those which were answered but not published online on the government's FOI hub. The categories you've listed in your response are fine, thank you."" Page 2 of 3

Our response to your request is as follows:

Number of FOI requests to Department of Economic Development/Department for Enterprise in 12 months prior to 26 March 2018 Total number of requests received 31 Number of responses where all information was sent 11 Number of responses where information was not held 2 Number of “neither confirm nor deny” responses” 1 Number of responses where no information was sent (all held but exempt) 5 Number of responses where the request lapsed1 or was withdrawn 4 Number of requests where some information was sent, but not all was held 0 Number of requests where some information was sent, but some was exempt. 8 While our aim is to provide information wherever possible under section 20 of the Act we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information on published requests is available from: https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/search. It should be noted that at the time of your request, 8 FOI responses had not been published on the Log. However all responses have now been published. Please quote the reference number 395235 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 to us at
Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624) 685375 Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

1 A request may have lapsed as the requester did not respond to a request from the Department. Page 3 of 3 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