Furbate Limited / the Hubb funding

Summary

A request was made for details on government funding provided to Furbate Limited for 'the Hubb', but the Department for Enterprise refused to disclose the specific amounts.

Key Facts

• The Department for Enterprise confirmed an offer of funding was made to Furbate Ltd under the Financial Assistance Scheme.
• The specific funding amount was withheld under Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015.
• The exemption was applied because disclosure could prejudice the economic interests of the island by discouraging businesses from applying for support.
• The information is scheduled to be published in the Enterprise Act 2008 Annual Report for 2018/19 in autumn 2019.
• The Department advised contacting other departments separately regarding potential funding from the Treasury or other sources.

Data Disclosed

• 2019-05-14
• 2019-06-18
• 2018/19
• autumn 2019
• section 30
• Enterprise Act 2008
• 824966

Exemptions Cited

• Section 30 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Prejudice to economic interests)

Original Request

Please can you provide confirmation of how much funding was provided by government, including treasury directly, or any government department, to support the setup and ongoing costs of 'the Hubb' (https://www.hubb.im), including any non-repayable grants, loans, loss underwriting, or other financial support?

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Page 1 of 3

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator 1st Floor, St Georges Court Upper Church Street, Douglas Isle of Man IM1 1EX

Telephone: (01624 685375) Website: www.gov.im/ded Email: steven.tallach@gov.im

Our ref: 824966 18 June 2019

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 14 May 2019 and which states:

"Please can you provide confirmation of how much funding was provided by government, including treasury directly, or any government department, to support the setup and ongoing costs of 'the Hubb' (https://www.hubb.im), including any non- repayable grants, loans, loss underwriting, or other financial support?"

An offer of funding to Furbate Ltd, to support the Hubb has been made by the Department under the Financial Assistance Scheme. 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 is likely to prejudice the economic interests of the island, on the grounds that businesses will be discouraged from applying to the Department for support if they know that the value of grant support will become public knowledge. 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 • Taxpayers have a right to know how money is being spent by Government.

Factors in favour of withholding • Businesses are likely to be discouraged from applying to the Department for financial support if it is likely that the amount of support received is put in the public domain. If businesses are discouraged from approaching the Department for support this may be damaging to the economy more widely, as businesses will not receive appropriate support. • Information relating to financial support under Financial Assistance Scheme (including support in this case) is published in Enterprise Act 2008 Annual Reports to Tynwald (for example, see section 4, page 9 here: http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/20182021/2018-GD- 0064.pdf), so there is already a mechanism for release of information on

financial support for businesses. Information on this grant will be published in the Annual Report for 2018/19 in autumn 2019. The total amount of assistance provided to all businesses under the Financial Assistance Scheme for the financial year 2018/19 will also be published.

In taking these factors into account the the Department for Enterprise determined that the factors in favour of maintaining the exemption outweigh the factors in favour of disclosing the information. In terms of funding to support the Hubb from other Departments, you may wish to contact other Departments separately to ascertain whether Treasury or any other Departments hold information on support for the Hubb.

Please quote the reference number 824966 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