Data Privacy Notice
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. This is subject to certain exemptions and practical refusal reasons.
Each Public Authority (each Department, Board, or Office of Government) [and sometimes an individual office holder]) 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
A Public Authority needs your personal information (such as your name and contact details) to process and respond to you about your FOI request. In some cases, the Public Authority might ask for proof of identification, and proof of residency, so that it can comply with the FOIA.
A Public Authority must have a legal basis (a lawful reason) to process your personal data, which is submitted by you when you make a FOI Request. The legal basis for processing your information when you make a request is that it is necessary for the Public Authority to comply with the law (the FOIA), or that it is necessary for the performance of a public task carried out in the public interest. (These are set out in Articles 6(1)(c) and (e) of the Schedule to the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018 – this legislation is sometimes called “the Applied GDPR”).
Sharing information
FOI requests have to be submitted on a form prescribed by the Chief Executive Officer (Isle of Man Government) in order to be valid and accepted under the FOIA. 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.
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 relevant Public Authority.
- 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 FOI 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 ad 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.
If you are unhappy with the response to your Freedom of Information request
If you are dissatisfied with the response to your request for information, or the way your request was handled, you have the right to request the public authority to undertake a review.
If you are still unhappy following the review, you can complain about your request to the Information Commissioner’s Office. In this case the Public Authority to whom you have submitted your request will need to share information, such as emails we have sent or received from you with them so that the Information Commissioner can investigate the complaint.
Storing your information
Your personal information will be held in iCasework for 12 months after the Public Authority has closed your request, or if you requested a review of your request, your personal information will be held in iCasework for 36 months after the Public Authority has closed your request.
After this time, the request will remain on the iCasework system, but all your personal information you provided at the time of the request will be deleted.
Your rights
The Applied GDPR (data protection legislation) provides you as a data subject with some rights to be informed of the processing of your personal data, including the right to access that data and information about the purposes for processing.
This includes a right to correct (rectify) any information a public authority holds, or to restrict it in certain circumstances.
As the public authority is processing your data in order to comply with its legal obligations, certain of the data protection rights do not apply, including the right to have your data deleted (erasure), transferred to another provider, the right to object to the processing, and be informed about automated decision making.
When using the iCasework site or dealing with FOI requests, a Public Authority does not make automated decisions or profile your data.
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.
