Tree felling

Summary

A request was made to the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture regarding revenue from tree felling shipped by Mezeron Freight, but no information was disclosed.

Key Facts

• The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture holds the requested information but refused to release it.
• The refusal was based on Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 regarding economy and commercial interests.
• The authority determined that disclosing revenue figures would weaken future negotiating positions and harm value for money.
• The public interest test concluded that factors favoring withholding information outweighed those favoring disclosure.
• The requester has the right to request an internal review or appeal to the Information Commissioner.

Data Disclosed

• 5160453
• 2025-12-10
• 2026-01-08
• 8 January 2026
• Section 30
• Section 30(1)(b)
• Freedom of Information Act 2015

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 - Economy and commercial interests
• Section 30(1)(b) - Prejudice to commercial interests

Original Request

How much revenue is the tax payer making from the recent tree felling currently getting shipped away by mezeron freight

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator Corporate Services Directorate Thie Slieau Whallian, Foxdale Road, St John’s, Isle of Man, IM4 3AS Tel no (01624) 685854 Fax no (01624 685851 Email: defa@gov.im www.gov.im

Our ref: 5160453 8 January 2026

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 10 December 2025, which states:

"How much revenue is the tax payer making from the recent tree felling currently getting shipped away by mezeron freight"

Section 30 - Economy and commercial interests
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 financial interests of the island.

The Department is satisfied, that the disclosure of this information would likely prejudice the commercial interests of the Department and an exemption to the disclosure of this information is engaged under section 30(1)(b) of the Act. This is because the Department are satisfied that disclosure would be likely to weaken the Departments negotiating position and its ability to achieve best value for money when procuring relevant services in the future.

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
• The public has an interest in the management of public resources;
• Revenue transparency supports accountability;
• Release of some information could promote public understanding of procurement; and
• Release of some information could promote public understanding of asset disposal

Factors in favour of withholding
• Revealing revenue figures would give contractors insight into the department's financial thresholds and current values;
• Revealing the revenue figures would likely significantly weaken the department's ability to negotiate competitive rates in future contracts;

• Commercially sensitive information like revenue from sales can affect distort market;
• Disclosure would likely impact procurement provisions in the future; and
• Competitors or potential bidders could use this data to benchmark bids, reducing competitive tension and harming value-for-money outcomes.

In taking these factors into account the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information.

Please quote the reference number 5160453 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.