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 documents held by a Public Authority.
You can find out more information on the FOIA including how to make a request to us here: Isle of Man Government - Freedom of Information and you can also use this link to view previous requests and their responses.
We are the controller for the personal data you provide to us when making a FOI request to the General Registry.
Legal basis for processing your information
Our legal basis for processing your information when you make a request is:
- Article 6(1)(c) Legal obligation of the Applied General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies, that the processing is necessary for the Department 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.
We need your information in order to process and respond to you directly about your request and in some cases we may request proof of residency so that we comply with the FOIA .
For more general information about what personal data the General Registry collects and what that data is used for - click HERE
Sharing information
FOIA requests have to be submitted on a form prescribed by the Chief Executive Officer (Isle of Man Government) 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 our Data Protection Officer (see below for contact details).
When we process your FOIA request, we will use a system called iCasework, which is administered by the Department of Home Affairs (“the processor”), provided by Civica UK Ltd. 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 us on genregicaseworkfoi@gov.im for assistance
- If we have requested proof of residency from you
- Civica UK Limited act as a processor on behalf of the General Registry
Only authorised staff from the General Registry can access your information. The processor (Department of Home Affairs) will only access your information if it is necessary to undertake technical administration work in the iCasework system and only upon our written instructions to do so. You can read their privacy notice here.
If you have been unhappy with a response we have provided and have exhausted our complaints procedure, you may complain about your request to the Information Commissioner’s Office. 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 twelve (12) months after we have closed your request. After this time, the request will remain on the iCasework system, but all of your personal information which you provided at the time of the request will be deleted.
Unauthorised access to FOIA requests
The Information Commissioner is investigating incidents of unauthorised access to requests made under the FOIA during the period 1 April 2022 to 22 March 2023, which includes some requests that were submitted to us. If you are concerned that you may be affected by this unauthorised access, you can contact our Data Protection Officer for further information, the contact details are given below.
Please see the news release dated 19 June 2023 from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
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
Data Protection Officer
If you have any questions about how we process your personal information, you can speak to our Data Protection Officer regarding your rights.
Email: DPO-GenReg@gov.im Phone: +44 (0)1624 685 297
In writing to:
General Registry Data Protection Officer
Courts of Justice
Deemsters Walk
Bucks Road
Douglas
IM1 3AR
Details of rights under the data protection legislation can be found in our general privacy notice at General Registry Courts of Justice
Additional information
Isle of Man Government Freedom of Information
Freedom of Information Act 2015 - legislation
Information Commissioner’s Office – Freedom of Information guidance page