Sale St Thomas school building

Summary

The requester asked for details on meetings regarding the sale of the St Thomas school building, but the Department of Education, Sport and Culture stated it does not hold this information as the matter is the responsibility of the Church and Trustees. However, the authority provided extracts from internal meetings discussing the potential 50% contribution from the sale proceeds to fund the new Scooil Vallajeelt site.

Key Facts

• The Department of Education, Sport and Culture does not hold information on specific meetings regarding the sale of the St Thomas school building.
• Responsibility for the future use and sale of the site lies with the Diocese of Sodor and Man, the Church of England, and the Trustees.
• The Department's position is that a minimum of 50% of the future sale value should be returned to the Department.
• The Church of England agreed to contribute 50% of the sale price to the co-location project.
• The Education Council confirmed in November 2017 that the Church owns the building and it cannot be used as a school again.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-05-14
• 2018-06-12
• 31 October 2017
• November 2017
• December 2017
• January 2018
• February 2018
• March 2018
• 50%
• 467433

Exemptions Cited

• Section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 - Information not held

Original Request

Can you confirm whether any meetings and how many, have taken place with regard to the future use or sale of the current St Thomas school building once the school has been re-located to Scooil Vallajeelt between the Department for Education, Sport and Culture any of the following : 1) Representatives from the Diocese of Sodor and Man. 2) Representatives from the Church of England not part of the Diocese of Sodor and Man. 3) The trustees of St Thomas school building. 4) Other government departments. Please indicate which ones and if possible provide any minutes or correspondence of those meetings or the URL where they maybe found on-line.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Corporate Services Division Department of Education, Sport and Culture Hamilton House Peel Road, Douglas IM1 5EZ Telephone: (01624) 685808
Website: www.gov.im/dec Email: dec@foi.gov.im
Our ref: 467433 12 June 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 14 May 2018 and which states:

"Can you confirm whether any meetings and how many, have taken place with regard to the future use or sale of the current St Thomas school building once the school has been re-located to Scooil Vallajeelt between the Department for Education, Sport and Culture any of the following : 1) Representatives from the Diocese of Sodor and Man. 2) Representatives from the Church of England not part of the Diocese of Sodor and Man. 3) The trustees of St Thomas school building. 4) Other government departments. Please indicate which ones and if possible provide any minutes or correspondence of those meetings or the URL where they maybe found on-line."

Department response While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Department does not hold or cannot find, from searches undertaken to date, information about specific meetings which concerned the future sale or use of the school site with the groups listed.

This is because matters relating to both the future use and sale of the current St Thomas’ school site is not a matter in which the Department has a future responsibility or direct influence.
The future use and sale of the current St Thomas’ school site are matters for the Representatives of the Diocese of Sodor and Man, Representatives of the Church of England and/or the Trustees of St Thomas’ school building.

A practical refusal reason therefore applies under section 11(3)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 – “the public authority does not hold or cannot, after taking reasonable steps to do so, find the information that you have requested” However by way of advice and assistance, references to the potential receipt of proceeds from any future sale of the site have arisen as part of other meetings, particularly DESC Department meetings; relevant extracts from which are provided below for your information:- DESC Department meetings:- November 2017 - St Thomas School co-location – The Minister and Mr Corkish had a meeting with the Arch-Bishop and subsequently the Bishop on the 31 October 2017. In the discussion that followed there was discussion about the need for a commitment regarding funding from the Church towards the funding of redevelopment of Scoill Vallajeelt. December 2017 - Future sale of St Thomas’ School – the Department’s position was reiterated that a minimum 50% of the future sale value of the site should be returned to the Department. January 2018 - Future sale of St Thomas’ School – It was agreed to write to [a Representative of the Church of England] to seek confirmation and further details of the proposed timeline. February 2018 – Future sale of St Thomas’ School – It was noted that the letter to [the Church of England Representative] had been sent but no response had yet been received. March 2018 - Future sale of St Thomas’ School – [A Representative of the Church of England] has said that the Church of England would be making a contribution of 50% of the sale price of the present St Thomas Primary School to the co-location. The following extract from the November 2017 minutes of the Education Council are also provided by way of advice and assistance:- November 2017 – St Thomas’ - The education council asked who owns the St. Thomas’ building. The answer to which was the church. The site could not be used as a school again and it is also expected that some of the money from the site will be contributed to the development of the Vallajeelt site. Please quote the reference number 467433 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.

Yours sincerely