0113 - FOI

14 September 2023
Dear Mr Glover,
Thank you for your request for information about:
• Copies of Delivery Board meeting minutes
• Dates of all Delivery Board Meetings since July 2022
• Attendee names for each Delivery Board Meetings since July 2022
• Items discussed for each Delivery Board Meetings since July 2022
• Dates of all MMO Board Meetings since July 2022
• Attendee names for each MMO Board Meetings since July 2022
• Items discussed for each MMO Board Meetings since July 2022
• Dates of MMO Board Meetings since July 2022 where the I-VMS programme was discussed.
We are dealing with your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
We note within your request you referred to MMO Delivery Board, under section 5.6 of the minutes. MMO confirms this Delivery Board, in relation to i-VMS, was not implemented. Therefore, we are not able to provide you with this information as it is not information that the MMO holds.
Under section 21 of Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) a public authority is exempt from providing information in response to a request where that information is reasonable accessible via other means. You will see MMO board papers are published at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/marine-managementorganisation/about/our-governance

You will note that these minutes detail names of those in attendance as well as what items were discussed. The minutes also identify where i-VMS was discussed.
We considered this to be information easily accessible to you by other means, we are not therefore required to provided it to you in response to this request and have not done so.
Any board minutes which are not available on our website, are those which are confidential in nature. These are being withheld under the exemption set out in section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Section 43(2) exempts from disclosure information whose disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any legal person (an individual, a company, the public authority itself or any other legal entity).
In applying this exemption, we have had to balance the public interest in withholding the information against the public interest in disclosure.
We recognise that there is a public interest in disclosure of information concerning MMO board meeting minutes. On the other hand, there is also a strong and countervailing public interest in withholding the information because the information contains discussion around a number of different commercial interests.
Therefore, whilst we have worked from the presumption in favour of releasing the information to you, we have concluded that in all the circumstances of the case these minutes should be withheld.
If you require any further advice or assistance, please contact me in the first instance.
Additionally, if you are unhappy with the way the MMO has handled your request for information, you can request an internal review by writing to Internal Reviews at the MMO, Lancaster House, Hampshire Court, Newcastle Business Park, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7YH or e-mail accesstoinformation@marinemanagement.org.uk.
If you remain dissatisfied with the handling of your request or complaint, you have a right to appeal at the ICO, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK9 5AF. Tel 0303 123 1113 or http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints. There is no charge for the internal review or making and appeal to the ICO.
Yours sincerely
Laurie Rodwell
Service Exception Lead