FoI Information

Summary

The request sought statistics on FOI responses, staffing details, and time spent by the Isle of Man Treasury over the past three financial years. The authority disclosed that 169 requests were handled by two staff members who perform FOI duties alongside other responsibilities, totaling 724 recorded hours.

Key Facts

• 169 FOI requests were received and responded to in the past three financial years.
• Two people currently process and respond to FOI requests at the Treasury.
• FOI management is a duty in addition to other responsibilities for both staff members.
• The staff grades involved are Higher Executive Officers and Administrative Officers.
• 724 hours were recorded by FOI Coordinators for processing and responding to requests.

Data Disclosed

• 169
• 724 hours
• 73
• 2
• 2024-09-02
• 2024-09-12
• 2024-09-05
• 2024-09-11
• 2024-09-02
• 4095514

Original Request

Dear Sirs, How many FOI responses were given for the past three financial years, including practical refusals; How many people are employed by Treasury to manage and administer the FOI process; whether this is their sole duty or whether it is a duty in addition to other responsibilities, and their grade(s) please. Finally, how much time has been spent by the FOI Coordinators collating the responses?

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: 4095514 12 September 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 2 September 2024, and amended on 5 and 11 September 2024, which states:

"Dear Sirs,

How many FOI responses were given for the past three financial years, including practical refusals;

How many people are employed by Treasury to manage and administer the FOI process; whether this is their sole duty or whether it is a duty in addition to other responsibilities, and their grade(s) please.

Finally, how much time has been spent by the FOI Coordinators collating the responses?"

Our response to your request is as follows:

How many FOI responses were given for the past three financial years, including practical refusals Based on the information recorded in our Freedom of Information (FOI) system, the number of requests which were received and responded to in the past three financial years, including where practical refusal reasons apply, is 169. How many people are employed by Treasury to manage and administer the FOI process; whether this is their sole duty or whether it is a duty in addition to other responsibilities, and their grade(s) The number of people who currently process and respond to FOI requests is two based on the information held by Treasury.

The following is an extract from a Higher Executive Officers job description which references FOI as one of the responsibilities:

1. Act as the Department’s Freedom of Information Coordinator, including oversight and responsibility for the Department’s handling of FOI requests and use of the FOI casework management system.

In addition to the above the following is an extract from a list of tasks, currently being undertaken by an Administrative Officer, which references FOI as one of the responsibilities:

Assist with FoI requests requesting information from other departments and corresponding with the applicant as necessary.

How much time has been spent by the FOI Coordinators collating the responses

Based on the information recorded in our FOI system the number of hours spent by FOI Coordinators processing and responding to requests is 724 hours.

Please note this is an estimated amount of time, which the FOI Coordinator records in the system, when the final response to a request has been issued, and this does not include the time spent on the request by other Officers in the process.

In addition to the above, the system does not require the FOI Coordinator to record the time spent on requests when an applicant withdraws and no longer wishes to proceed with their FOI or they choose not to respond to correspondence from the Department, following notification that a practical refusal reason is likely to apply to their request. (In these 2 instances this equates to 73 of the 169 FOI’s responded to in the previous three financial years).

Please quote the reference number 4095514 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.