The government has published the reasons several taxpayer owned companies put forward to avoid being subject to the FoI Act.
It was announced in September that the government will not be extending FoIs to arms-length companies such as the Steam Packet and the Manx Development Corporation.
When asked whether the companies should be treated the same as other arms of the government, both companies highlighted concerns about the cost it would place on them.
The MDC said it publishes a lot of information as set out in its shareholder agreement through “publicly available audited financial statements” and that much of its information would be commercially confidential.
It added: “MDC has 4 employees. Responding to FoI requests, some of which may be mischievous, is a significant burden and distracts the team from their core purpose.”
Onerous
The Steam Packet also opposed the move, saying it already publishes a substantial amount of information through annual reports.
The company said that “dealing with FoI requests will require additional resource, probably at least one additional full-time employee”.
It warned that such requests “will inevitably increase administration and costs,” using the example that “Calmac advise us that they currently have two full-time employees and deal with up to 200 requests per year”.
The board also expressed concern that “given the high profile of the company, as evidenced by widespread comment on social media, the company will receive a disproportionate number of FoI requests relative to other bodies”.
Meat
The Isle of Man Meat Company also opposed a potential inclusion, saying it “was established as an arm’s length commercial company to allow it to trade fully without the oversight of government”.
It added: “In this respect we do not believe the definition of a publicly owned company is deemed to include commercially sensitive arm’s length companies.”
You can read the full list of responses here: