Explanatory Memorandum

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Arnold Thornton
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1 IN THE COUNCIL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2017 Explanatory Memorandum 1. This Bill was promoted by Minister Thomas MHK in the Keys on behalf of the Cabinet Offie and is promoted in the Counil by HM Attorney General. 2. Clauses 1 to 3 deal, respetively, with the Short Title, Commenement and Expiry of the resulting At. 3. Clause 4 stipulates that the remainder of the Bill sets out the details of the amendments made to the Freedom of Information At Clause 5 amends setion 5(1) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (interpretation) by substituting the following definitions (a) (b) () any other State this definition has been amended for the sake of larity to make it lear that the term any other State inludes any Crown Dependeny and to extend the definition to inlude (i) (ii) a territory for whose international relations another State is responsible; and a onstituent part of a federal state. The term any other State is used in setions 24 and 29 of the Freedom of Information At information this definition has been amended to make it lear that it does not inlude unreorded information. working day this definition has been amended to remove paragraph () whih defines working day in the ase of an eduational establishment. Paragraph () of the definition of working day is relevant for the definition of standard proessing period in setion 12(2) of the Freedom of Information At Rather than rely on paragraph () of the definition of working day to alulate the standard proessing period in respet of requests for information whih relate to an eduational establishment, the Counil of Ministers may instead make regulations under paragraph (b) of the definition of standard proessing period to presribe a different period of time in these irumstanes. 5. Clause 6 amends paragraph (a) of setion 23 of the Freedom of Information At 2015 by substituting the referene to the Queen with a referene the Sovereign.

2 Explanatory Memorandum Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill Clause 7 amends setion 24(2) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (absolutely exempt information under international agreements about exhange of information) to refer to the term any other State. 7. Clause 8 amends setion 29(4) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (international relations) to make the same amendments to that subsetion as lause 7 makes to setion 24(2). 8. Clause 9 amends setion 34(1) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (formulation of poliy) so that the qualified exemption for the formulation of government poliy is available to all publi authorities and not just to publi authorities whih are Departments. The amendment also larifies that the information must relate to any of the paragraphs in the proposed new subsetion (1) and need not relate to every paragraph in the proposed new subsetion (1). 9. Clause 10 amends 38 of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (qualified exempt ommuniations with the Crown) to larify that information whih relates to ommuniations with a member of the Royal Family or with the Royal Household is qualified exempt information. 10. Clause 11 substitutes setion 43 of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (review of deisions originally made by the Information Commissioner) with a new setion 43. The new setion 43 extends the urrent setion 43 to provide that the remaining provisions of the Freedom of Information At 2015 as are relevant to enable the Information Commissioner to exerise his or her funtions under setion 42, or whih relate to the exerise of suh funtions, shall apply equally to the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration. The new setion 43 also provides that if the offie of the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration is vaant or if the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration is unable to at, the Counil of Ministers may instead appoint a person with the appropriate qualifiations, skills and ompetene to at. 11. Clause 12 amends setion 45(6) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (information noties) to substitute the referenes to advoate with referenes to professional legal adviser. This is to ensure that ommuniations with legal advisers other than Manx advoates are also proteted. 12. Clause 13 amends setion 47(1)(a)(i) of the Freedom of Information At 2015 (exeption from duty to omply with ertain noties) to reflet the fat that the Cabinet Offie is now a Department. 13. Clause 14 inserts a new setion 64A into the Freedom of Information At 2015 to enable a person to furnish the Information Commissioner with any information neessary for the disharge of his funtions under the At. This setion mirrors the equivalent provision in setion 53 of the Data Protetion At Clause 15 amends paragraph 3 of Shedule 2 to the Freedom of Information At 2015 (tenure of offie of the Information Commissioner). The amendment makes it lear that an Information Commissioner may be appointed for a seond or third term of up to 5 years eah, but need not be so appointed. Page ii

3 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2017 Explanatory Memorandum 15. Clause 16 amends paragraph 9 of Shedule 3 to the Freedom of Information At 2015 (powers of entry and inspetion) to substitute the referenes to advoate with referenes to professional legal adviser. This is to ensure that ommuniations with legal advisers other than Manx advoates are also proteted. The wording in paragraph 9(4) has also been larified. 16. Clause 17 makes a onsequential amendment to the Legislation At 2015 by inserting a definition of the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration into paragraph 1 of the Shedule to that At. 17. In the opinion of the member moving the Bill its provisions are ompatible with the Convention rights within the meaning of the Human Rights At Page iii

5 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2017 Index e FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2017 Index Setion Page 1 Short title Commenement Expiry Freedom of Information At 2015 amended Setion 5 amended interpretation Setion 23 amended absolutely exempt ommuniations with the Crown Setion 24 amended absolutely exempt information under international agreements about exhange of information Setion 29 amended international relations Setion 34 amended formulation of poliy Setion 38 amended qualified exempt ommuniations with the Crown Setion 43 substituted review of deisions originally made by the Information Commissioner Setion 45 amended information noties Setion 47 amended exeption from duty to omply with ertain noties Setion 64A inserted dislosure of information Paragraph 3 of Shedule 2 amended tenure of offie Paragraph 9 of Shedule 3 amended ommuniations between advoate and lient Consequential amendment to the Interpretation At Page 5

7 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2017 Setion 1 e FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL A BILL to amend the Freedom of Information At 2015; and for onneted purposes. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen s Most Exellent Majesty, by and with the advie and onsent of the Counil and Keys in Tynwald assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: Short title The short title of this At is the Freedom of Information (Amendment) At Commenement (1) This At (other than this setion and setion 1) omes into operation on suh day or days as the Counil of Ministers by order appoints and different days may be appointed for different provisions and for different purposes. (2) An order under subsetion (1) may make suh onsequential, inidental, supplemental, transitional and saving provisions as the Counil of Ministers onsiders neessary or expedient. 3 Expiry (1) This At expires (a) on the day after its promulgation if all of its provisions are in operation on its promulgation; or (b) otherwise, on the date after the last provision is brought into operation. (2) The expiry does not (a) revive any enatment amended by this At as the enatment operated before the amendment ommened; (b) revive anything not in operation or existing when the amendment took effet; or () affet the ontinuing operation of the amendment. Page 7

8 Setion 4 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill Freedom of Information At 2015 amended The Freedom of Information At 2015 is amended as follows. 5 Setion 5 amended interpretation In subsetion (1) (a) for the definition of any other state substitute any other State inludes referenes to (a) any Crown Dependeny; (b) a territory of the United Kingdom outside the United Kingdom; () a territory for whose international relations another State is responsible; (d) a onstituent part of a federal state; Example: For (), Greenland for whose international relations Denmark is responsible. For (d), one of the United States of Ameria. ; (b) for the definition of information substitute information means information reorded in any form; ; () for the definition of working day substitute working day means any day exept (a) a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day or Good Friday; or (b) a bank holiday under the Bank Holidays At Setion 23 amended absolutely exempt ommuniations with the Crown In paragraph (a) of setion 23, for the Queen substitute the Sovereign. 7 Setion 24 amended absolutely exempt information under international agreements about exhange of information In subsetion (2) (a) for a State, substitute the United Kingdom, any other State, an ; (b) in paragraph (b), for the State, substitute suh a State,. 8 Setion 29 amended international relations In subsetion (4) (a) for a State, substitute the United Kingdom, any other State, an ; Page 8

9 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2017 Setion 9 1 (b) in paragraph (b), for the State, substitute suh a State, Setion 34 amended formulation of poliy For subsetion (1) substitute (1) Information is qualified exempt information if the information relates to (a) the formulation or development of government poliy; (b) ommuniations between Ministers (inluding, in partiular, the proeedings of the Counil of Ministers or of any ommittee of the Counil of Ministers); () the provision of legal advie or any request for suh advie; or (d) the operation of a Ministerial private offie.. 10 Setion 38 amended qualified exempt ommuniations with the Crown (1) For subsetion (1) substitute (1) Information is qualified exempt information if it relates to ommuniations (a) with a member of the Royal Family (other than ommuniations whih fall within any of paragraphs (a) to () of setion 23 beause they are made or reeived on behalf of a person falling within any of those paragraphs); and (b) with the Royal Household (other than ommuniations whih fall within any of paragraphs (a) to () of setion 23 and paragraph (a) above beause they are made or reeived on behalf of a person falling within any of those paragraphs).. (2) Subsetion (3) is repealed. 11 Setion 43 substituted review of deisions originally made by the Information Commissioner For setion 43 substitute 43 Review of deisions originally made by the Information Commissioner (1) If the publi authority that makes a deision in relation to whih a person ould apply to the Information Commissioner under setion 42 is the Information Commissioner Page 9

10 Setion 12 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill (a) setion 42 applies as if the referenes in that setion to the Information Commissioner were referenes to the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration; and (b) suh of the remaining provisions of this At (inluding setions 64 and 64A) (i) as are relevant to enable the Information Commissioner to exerise his or her funtions under setion 42; or (ii) whih relate to the exerise of suh funtions, shall apply, with the neessary adaptations and modifiations, to the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration as they apply to the Information Commissioner. (2) If (a) the offie of the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration is vaant; or (b) the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration is unable to at, the referenes to the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration in subsetion (1) shall be onstrued as referenes to a person appointed for that purpose by the Counil of Ministers. (3) The Counil of Ministers must be satisfied that any person it appoints has the appropriate qualifiations, skills and ompetenes to arry out those funtions Setion 45 amended information noties In subsetion (6) (a) in paragraph (a), for an advoate substitute a professional legal adviser ; (b) in paragraph (b), for a ommuniation between an advoate and his or her lient, or between an advoate substitute a ommuniation between a professional legal adviser and his or her lient, or between suh an adviser. 13 Setion 47 amended exeption from duty to omply with ertain noties For subsetion (1)(a)(i) substitute (i) is served on a publi authority that is a Department; and. Page 10

11 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2017 Setion Setion 64A inserted dislosure of information After setion 64 insert 64A Dislosure of information No statutory provision or rule of law prohibiting or restriting the dislosure of information shall prelude a person from furnishing the Information Commissioner with any information neessary for the disharge of his or her funtions under this At.. 15 Paragraph 3 of Shedule 2 amended tenure of offie For paragraph 3(2) substitute (2) The Information Commissioner holds offie for a term of up to 5 years, and may (but need not) be re-appointed (a) for a seond term of up to 5 years on the expiry of that term; and (b) for a third term of up to 5 years on the expiry of the seond term. (3) The Information Commissioner may only be appointed for a maximum of 3 suessive terms.. 16 Paragraph 9 of Shedule 3 amended ommuniations between advoate and lient (1) For the heading of paragraph 9 substitute 9 Communiations between professional legal adviser and lient (2) In sub-paragraph (1)(a), for an advoate substitute a professional legal adviser. (3) In sub-paragraph (1)(b), for any ommuniation between an advoate and his or her lient, or between an advoate substitute any ommuniation between a professional legal adviser and his or her lient, or between suh an adviser. (4) In sub-paragraph (3), for advoate substitute professional legal adviser. (5) For sub-paragraph (4) substitute (4) In this paragraph referenes to the lient of a professional legal adviser inlude referenes to any person representing suh a lient.. Page 11

12 Setion 17 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill Consequential amendment to the Interpretation At 2015 In paragraph 1 of the Shedule to the Interpretation At 2015, after the definition of Treasury insert Tynwald Commissioner for Administration means the Commissioner appointed under setion 4(1) of the Tynwald Commissioner for Administration At 2011;. 7 Page 12

14 IN THE COUNCIL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2017 A BILL to amend the Freedom of Information At 2015; and for onneted purposes. BROUGHT FROM THE KEYS HM ATTORNEY GENERAL NOVEMBER 2017 Published by Authority

i e CONSUMER PROTECTION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2015

i e CONSUMER PROTECTION (AMENDMENT) BILL 0 CONSUMER PROTECTION (AMENDMENT) BILL 0 Explanatory Memorandum. This Bill is promoted by Mr Quirk on behalf of the Counil of Ministers.. Clauses, and deal with