Cost of painting IOM Courts of Justice.

Summary

A request was made for a detailed cost breakdown of painting the Courts of Justice buildings, including scaffolding and contractor names. The Department of Infrastructure disclosed the total cost and contractor details but withheld the specific breakdown of costs under a commercial interest exemption.

Key Facts

• The painting contract was awarded to S Beattie Decorators Limited via a Quick Quote process.
• Scaffolding was subcontracted by S Beattie Decorators Limited to Absolute Scaffolding Limited.
• The total cost to the taxpayer for the works was £175,953.46.
• Detailed cost breakdowns for scaffolding and painting were withheld to protect commercial interests.
• The request was initially made to the Cabinet Office before being referred to the Department of Infrastructure.

Data Disclosed

• £175,953.46
• 2024-12-04
• 2025-01-15
• 17 December 2024
• 4295589
• Section 30

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Act (Commercial interests)

Original Request

During the spring and summer of 2024 the exterior walls of the Courts of Justice buildings (either side of Deemster's Walk) were painted. Please can you confirm the following: 1. What was the cost to the taxpayer of the scaffolding hired to paint the exterior of the Court buildings, to include erection and weekly/monthly charges? 2. Which scaffolding firm was awarded the contract? 3. What was the cost of painting the exterior walls of the Court buildings (including labour and materials but excluding scaffolding cost)? 4. Which contractor was awarded the painting contract? 5. What was the overall cost of the exterior painting work inclusive of all preparation, labour and materials, scaffolding and any other associated costs? For the avoidance of doubt these questions relate to the Court of Justice building bounded by Deemsters Walk, Albert Street, Bucks Road and Prospect Hill and also the Registries building the other side of Deemsters Walk, facing the Court of Justice building. Please also note that this query was initially made to the Cabinet Office who have referred us to the DOI for response. We now request a full substantive from the DOI. Thank you.

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: 4295589 17 December 2024

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 4 December 2024, which states:

"During the spring and summer of 2024 the exterior walls of the Courts of Justice buildings (either side of Deemster's Walk) were painted.

Please can you confirm the following:

1. What was the cost to the taxpayer of the scaffolding hired to paint the exterior of the Court buildings, to include erection and weekly/monthly charges?

2. Which scaffolding firm was awarded the contract?

3. What was the cost of painting the exterior walls of the Court buildings (including labour and materials but excluding scaffolding cost)?

4. Which contractor was awarded the painting contract?

5. What was the overall cost of the exterior painting work inclusive of all preparation, labour and materials, scaffolding and any other associated costs?

For the avoidance of doubt these questions relate to the Court of Justice building bounded by Deemsters Walk, Albert Street, Bucks Road and Prospect Hill and also the Registries building the other side of Deemsters Walk, facing the Court of Justice building.

Please also note that this query was initially made to the Cabinet Office who have referred us to the DOI for response.

We now request a full substantive from the DOI.

Thank you."

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 of a full

breakdown of costs as requested would be likely to prejudice the Department's commercial interests in future tender processes and the commercial interests of the contractor that completed the works due to unfairly exposing commercially sensitive information to the advantage of competitors.

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 - Showing how the supplier arrived at the process in relation to pricing particularly concerning the spending of public funds
- Ensuring that public money is being used effectively and Departments are getting value for money when purchasing services

Factors in favour of withholding - There is not public interest in the breakdown of the contract costs
- The need to protect the commercial interest of the private sector, which plays an important role in the general health of the economy
- The Department has provided the total costs for the completion of the works

In taking these factors into account the Department of Infrastructure determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption in relation to the breakdown of each part of the works outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

The painting contract was awarded to S Beattie Decorators Limited via a Quick Quote process on the Government Procurement Portal.

The scaffolding aspect of the works was subcontracted by S Beattie Decorators Limited to Absolute Scaffolding Limited.

The total cost to the taxpayer for the completion of works referenced in your request for information is £175,953.46.

Please quote the reference number 4295589 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.