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The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company says it would need to create a new role to handle requests if it were brought under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.
A number of publicly owned companies were consulted as part of the Council of Ministers’ wider review of FOI policy, which led to the decision not to extend the Act to additional publicly owned bodies, including the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company, Manx Development Corporation and Isle of Man Meat Company.
Most of those consulted raised strong objections to being included, citing concerns about the strain on resources and the risk to commercial confidentiality.
In its submission, the Steam Packet said it already publishes a significant amount of information through its business plan and annual audited accounts.
In a summary provided by Mr Cannan, responding to a question from Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas, he said: ‘Management fear that, given the high profile of the company, as evidenced by widespread comment on social media, the company will receive a disproportionate number of FoI requests relative to other bodies.
‘Dealing with FoI requests will require additional resource, probably at least one additional full-time employee. Such requests will inevitably increase administration and costs. CalMac advise us that they currently have two full-time employees and deal with up to 200 requests per year.’
The strongest objections came from CinemaNX, the Isle of Man film company that produced and distributed films during the latter part of the island’s film industry from 2007 to 2012.
The company, which remains active and is seeking further Treasury funding, said: ‘Whether we release the information requested or whether an exemption is available, CinemaNX will need to consider each request in detail on its own merits. This will be a time-consuming and expensive process.
‘CinemaNX will often require legal advice as we are not experts in FoI requests. Therefore, an external advocate will need to be utilised at significant cost.
‘Where we determine that we can and should release the information and/or documentation requested, the work to obtain this would result in significant additional administrative costs for CinemaNX and its subsidiaries.
‘The CinemaNX structure is already in discussions with Treasury to seek a cash injection into the structure. If any requests for information are received before further funds are injected, the additional costs would severely impact the solvency of CinemaNX and its subsidiaries.’
The company also raised concerns that releasing data could ‘undermine trust’ and ‘disrupt ongoing business activities’.
The Isle of Man Meat Company Ltd argued it was set up to trade ‘without the oversight of government’ and should not be considered a publicly owned company.
It said: ‘We feel that given the current turnaround project of IOMMCL and the very public, and unwarranted, agendas being published in the media, the amount of work involved if the company was subject to the Act would be unmanageable.’
The Manx Development Corporation made similar arguments, saying it already provides audited financial statements to Tynwald and that some information would be commercially sensitive.