FoI Costs

Summary

The requester asked for the specific costs of providing Freedom of Information responses over the past three financial years. The Department of Infrastructure disclosed the total costs for its Information Governance and Data Protection team but stated it does not hold specific figures isolating FOI response costs from other duties.

Key Facts

• The Department of Infrastructure does not hold specific figures for the cost of providing FOI responses as they are accounted for within the overall team budget.
• The Information Governance and Data Protection team handles FOI requests alongside GDPR, data subject access requests, and information security.
• Cost data was provided for the team's total expenditure for the 2021/22, 2022/23, and 2023/24 financial years.
• The request was received on 2 September 2024 and the response was issued on 12 September 2024.
• The outcome was classified as 'Some information sent but not all held'.

Data Disclosed

• 2021/22 Financial Year: £95,056
• 2022/23 Financial Year: £59,641
• 2023/24 Financial Year: £43,670
• 2 September 2024
• 12 September 2024
• Reference number 4095513

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held or cannot be found after taking reasonable steps

Original Request

Dear Sirs, Can you confirm the cost of providing FoI responses to requesters for the past three financial years, please?

Data Tables (1)

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: 4095513 12 September 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 2 September 2024, which states:

"Dear Sirs,

Can you confirm the cost of providing FoI responses to requesters for the past three financial years, please?"

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find some of the information that you have requested.

Response: Some information held

The Department of Infrastructure’s Information Governance and Data Protection team are responsible for overseeing the co-ordination of Freedom of Information requests, alongside their other duties which includes all aspects of Information Governance, GDPR, Data Subject Access Requests, information security and compliance etc.

The costs for the Department of Infrastructure’s Information Governance and Data Protection team for the last three years are below:

Cost 2021/22 Financial Year
£95,056 2022/23 Financial Year
£59,641 2023/24 Financial Year
£43,670

We do not hold specific figures as to how much it costs to provide FOI responses as this is accounted for in the sub-divisions overall budget, and we do not hold information in relation to the costs from other areas of the Department when searching and dealing with FOI requests.

Please quote the reference number 4095513 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.

Jessie FOI Response Team