Former Isle of Man chief minister received £57k in Covid support

A former Isle of Man chief minister received £57,000 in Covid-related tourism support for his holiday cottage business, the government has revealed.

The Department for Enterprise (DfE) released the sum paid to Howard Quayle after it was ordered to do so by the island's information commissioner.

It comes after the regulator criticised the DfE for its handling of a freedom of information request on the matter.

The department has admitted there had been "failings" in its response.

In a statement, it revealed Mr Quayle's firm had received £34,375 from its Covid-related support schemes by March 2021, with a further £22,750 provided after that point.

'Wider implications'

The DfE's response comes after an initial refusal to answer the request for the information, claiming it was provided in confidence, and was therefore exempt.

Information Commissioner Iain McDonald ruled that was not justified given the "substantial public interest" in the details being disclosed, and highlighted a number of areas where the department had failed to adhere to the island's freedom of information rules.

A DfE spokesman said its policy was "not to disclose the breakdown of payments given to individual businesses" under its schemes to protect commercial interests.

Apologising to the Mr Quayle for not allowing him the chance to voluntarily disclose the information, the department said the former chief minister was "at no time involved" in the decision.

The information commissioner's ruling had "wider implications" for DfE disclosure policies he added, and said a review would take place in conjunction with other departments.