Info Commissioner Quits

The Information Commissioner, Iain McDonald, has quit citing a reduction in the office’s budget and insufficient staffing.

Mr McDonald was only reappointed to the role for a third term by Tynwald in December last year.

In a post on the Office’s LinkedIn page, it said that Mr McDonald, who has been with the independent office for 20 years, will leave on July 21.

The Info Commissioner is responsible for regulating the island’s Data Protection Act and the Freedom of Information Act amongst other roles, such as the ongoing investigation into a Cabinet Office official gaining unauthorised access to personal info of people submitting FoI requests.

It said: ‘Whilst the Office has taken on considerably greater responsibilities since 2015, including becoming arbitrator under the Freedom of Information Act and numerous additional tasks and functions under the Applied GDPR, resourcing, both financial and staffing, has not been sufficient to manage the ever increasing work load, nor to enable all tasks to be fulfilled.

‘Despite actively seeking additional funding for an extra member of staff, the existing budget was reduced in the latest budget round. This has had a devastating effect on the office staff and was the direct cause of the Commissioner stepping down.

‘At present, the future of the Office is uncertain and we apologise for any delays in the provision of responses or conclusion of complaints as this is due to the large volume of work currently being handled.’