Douglas Council must provide new response to FOI about former nurses home

Information Commissioner says authority applied a 'blanket exemption'

The Information Commissioner has ruled that Douglas Council must provide a new response to a Freedom of Information request about the former nurses' home development.

The council was asked about the Manx Development Corporation's project including building control, asbestos, the number of site visits carried out by the council and associated notes.

It claimed the information was exempt under 'economy and commercial interests' and that publication would reveal trade secrets.

Dr Alexandra Delaney-Bhattacharya concluded the local authority had applied a blanket exemption and failed to demonstrate the public interest factors for and against disclosure.

She also found 'inaccuracies' on the notice which states that the request was received on 30 April 2024, whereas conflicting documents show the request was actually received on 26 April 2024.

Douglas Council now has 30 days to provide a response.

The full decision notice can be found here.