The Council of Ministers has issued a Code of Practice as a guide for public authorities to help them comply with their responsibilities under the Island’s new Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
The Act comes into effect from February 1, 2016, initially only in respect of the Cabinet Office and the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture. The regime will be extended in stages over the following two years to other Departments and all public authorities, including local authorities, so that the Act is due to be fully in force by February 1, 2018.
In an introduction to the Code of Practice, Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK writes: ‘The Freedom of Information Act is an extensive and detailed piece of legislation, imposing legal duties on the named public authorities as well as giving new rights in law to Island residents.
‘To provide guidance in the execution of those duties the Council of Ministers is required to issue a Code of Practice to be followed by public authorities in the exercise of their functions under the Act.
‘The Freedom of Information Act Code of Practice has been produced in consultation with the Information Commissioner, who provides independent oversight of the operation of the legislation. This is an important document and I hope that it proves helpful to public authorities in the fulfilment of their responsibilities under the Act and to the wider public in their understanding of how the legislation will be applied.’
The Code of Practice will be laid before the December sitting of Tynwald, for information only. Also before the December Tynwald, for approval, is the Freedom of Information Act 2015 (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order which makes it clear that wider Government (ie non-Cabinet Office) information held by Government Technology Services and the Office of Human Resources, both part of the Cabinet Office, will not be subject to the initial FOI regime starting in February next year.
Meanwhile the Council of Ministers has decided to defer the introduction of regulations to impose a charge for making FOI requests, which is provided for under section 68 of the Act, pending an assessment of the impact of the legislation in its first phase.
The Freedom of Information Act Code of Practice can be found at http://www.tynwald.org.im/business/opqp/sittings/Tynwald%2020142016/2015-GD-0068.pdf.
