Isle of Man airport new vehicle

Summary

A request was made for the cost and type of a new vehicle purchased for bird scaring at the Isle of Man airport. The Department of Infrastructure disclosed the vehicle type and registration costs but withheld base vehicle and modification costs citing commercial confidentiality and economic interests.

Key Facts

• Two Volvo XC40 Recharge vehicles were purchased for the Airport Fire Service with bird scaring capabilities.
• Modifications to the vehicles are currently in process.
• The cost of registration for each vehicle was disclosed as £55.
• Base vehicle costs were withheld under Section 26 as an absolute exemption due to breach of confidence.
• Modification costs were withheld under Section 30 as a qualified exemption to protect commercial interests.

Data Disclosed

• 2024-08-21
• 2024-09-10
• 4076445
• £55
• Two vehicles
• Volvo XC40 Recharge

Exemptions Cited

• Section 26 (Breach of confidence)
• Section 30 (Economy and commercial interests)

Original Request

Hi, I have reason to believe a new vehicle purchased for use at the IOM airport primarily for the scaring of birds and other duties I have reason to be aware that was a very expensive vehicle and was specked up also I would therefore like to to know the cost of this vehicle its type and any other item costs therein Thanks xx Redactedxx

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

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

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4076445 5 September 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 21 August 2024, which states:

"Hi, I have reason to believe a new vehicle purchased for use at the IOM airport primarily for the scaring of birds and other duties I have reason to be aware that was a very expensive vehicle and was specked up also I would therefore like to to know the cost of this vehicle its type and any other item costs therein Thanks XRedacted NameX"

Our response: Information held, some exempt Two vehicles have been purchased for the Airport Fire Service which will have bird scaring capabilities. The base vehicles are Volvo XC40 Recharge which have been purchased from distributors and modifications to the vehicles are in process. In relation to cost, the base vehicle figures are absolutely exempt information under Section 26 (more information below) and the modification costs are qualified exempt information under section 30 Economy and commercial interests (more information below). The cost of registration for each vehicle was £55. Section 26: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information regarding the base vehicle costs are absolutely exempt under section 26 of the Act, as disclosure would constitute an actionable breach of confidence.
Section 30: While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the information is exempt from disclosure under section 30 of the Act as disclosure would be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of a person, business or Department of Infrastructure.

As section 30 is a qualified exemption, it is subject to a public interest test. The public interest must be something that is of serious concern and benefit to the public at large.

Factors in favour of disclosure • Accountability for spending of public funds
• To promote trust and transparency

Factors in favour of withholding • The need to protect the commercial interests of private sector
• The modifications are still in process/ live

In taking these factors into account the Department of Infrastructure determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 4076445 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.