Data Privacy Notice draft

Freedom of Information – Privacy Notice 

Isle of Man Freedom of Information Act 2015 (“FOIA”)

The Freedom of Information Act 2015 (FOIA) gives Isle of Man residents a legally enforceable right to obtain access to information held by a Public Authority.

Each Public Authority is the controller for the personal data you provide to us when making a Freedom of Information (FoI) request. 

Legal basis for processing your information

The legal basis for processing your information when you make a request is:

Article 6(1)(c) Legal obligation of the Applied GDPR applies, that the processing is necessary for the Public Authority to comply with the law (not including contractual obligations).

Article 6(1)(e) Public Task of the Applied GDPR applies, that the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.

The Public Authority needs your information in order to process and respond to you directly about your request and in some cases may request proof of residency so that we comply with the FOI legislation. 

Sharing information

FOI requests have to be submitted on a form prescribed by the Chief Executive Officer in order to be valid and you can either submit a request using the form online or a paper version, which is available by contacting the Data Protection Officer for the relevant Public Authority (see below for contact details).

For FOI requests made using the Online Services Portal on the Isle of Man Government website, a system called iCasework is used to process your request. The iCasework system is provided by a Company called Civica UK Limited. This system stores information such as: 

  • Your name
  • Your address
  • Your telephone and email address
  • Your company name, if you are requesting information on behalf of an organisation
  • Your request – we do not recommend putting any personal information into your request, if you are not sure what to include in your request, please contact the Data Protection Officer for the revenant Public Authority using the contact details provided below.
  • If requested, proof of residency from you 

Civica UK Limited act as a Processor on behalf of the Public Authorities. Civica UK Limited use the information held in the iCasework system for the purpose of providing a system to manage freedom of information requests and to transfer this information to the relevant public authority. The information you provide to Civica UK Limited will be kept secure and confidential. 

Access to your information is limited to authorised staff members within the relevant Public Authority. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA), through the Office of Cyber Security & Information Assurance (OCSIA), has been contracted by the Public Authorities to manage system access on their behalf. The DHA through OCSIA will only access personal data held on the iCasework system when explicit written instructions are provided by a Public Authority. For further details regarding privacy are contained in the Public Authorities Privacy Notices which you can find by following the link below. 

If you have been unhappy with a response you have been provided with in relation to a Freedom of Information request you may complain about your request to the Information Commissioner’s Office. https://www.inforights.im/complaint-handling/how-to-make-a-complaint-to-the-information-commissioner/  In this case we will need to share information such as emails we have sent or received from you with them so that they can investigate the complaint. 

Storing your information

Your personal information will be held in iCasework for 12 months after we have closed your request. After this time, the request will remain on the system, but all your personal information you provided at the time of the request will be deleted. 

Your rights

Under Article 6(1)(c) data subjects have the right to:

  • Be informed
  • Right to access
  • Right to rectification
  • Right to restrict processing 

The following rights do not apply:

  • Right to erasure
  • Right to portability
  • Right to object 

The following right is not applicable:

Right to be informed of automated decision making including profiling. 

Who do I contact if I have any questions?

If you have any questions about how a Public Authority is processing your personal data you can speak to their Data Protection Officer. Contact details of the Data Protection Officer’s for the Public Authorities are as follows /about-the-government/data-protection-gdpr-on-the-isle-of-man/iomg-data-protection-officers/ 

Additional information 

Isle of Man Government Freedom of Information Freedom of Information Act 2015 - legislation

Information Commissioner’s Office – Freedom of Information guidance page