Democratic representation

Summary

The requester asked about unspoken policies protecting government staff accused of criminality and the procedure for whistleblowing. The Department of Infrastructure stated it does not hold information on unspoken policies as they are not valid FOI requests, but provided a link to the official government whistleblowing policy.

Key Facts

• The request was received on 2018-09-19 and responded to on 2018-09-20.
• The authority stated it cannot provide written evidence of 'unspoken policies' as FOI applies to held information like documents and emails.
• The government's official whistleblowing policy is available online at hr.gov.im.
• The requester was informed of their right to an internal review or appeal to the Information Commissioner.
• The case reference number is 608168.

Data Disclosed

• 2018-09-19
• 2018-09-20
• 608168
• 2 pages
• 1 document
• 01624 686785

Exemptions Cited

• Information not held
• Not a valid request for unspoken policies

Original Request

1. Is there an unspoken policy to protect members of staff that work for any part of Government that commit alledged criminality under common law or statute whilst being paid to serve the public? 2. What is the procedure to report/whistle-blow white-collar criminality within the local authoritys or central Government?

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

Our ref: 608168 20 September 2018

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 19 September 2018 and which states (sic):

"1. Is there an unspoken policy to protect members of staff that work for any part of Government that commit alledged criminality under common law or statute whilst being paid to serve the public? 2. What is the procedure to report/whistle-blow white-collar criminality within the local authoritys or central Government?"

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 the information that you have requested or the information is readily available by other means.

1. In the terms of Freedom of Information this is not a valid request. Freedom of Information is for information held i.e. documents, emails, policies, procedures; therefore we are unable to provide written evidence of any ‘unspoken policies’.
2. You will find the Governments policy on whistleblowing through the following link https://hr.gov.im/policies-procedures-codes-and-guidance/whistleblowing-policy/. You could also do a google search using the terms ‘iom gov whistleblowing policy’.

Please quote the reference number 608168 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