Dear Mr Williams

SUBJECT: Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your email of 27 November 2009 of in which you asked for details of any agreements in place with the Isle of Man relating to the exploitation of the territorial seas or continental shelf of the British Islands, and the same for any agreement (current or not) on these matters which was concluded in1966 or 1991

from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for answering requests which relate to the Crown Dependencies and your request has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I have conducted a thorough search of our paper and electronic records and unfortunately the information you have requested relating to agreements between the Isle of Man and the UK on the exploitation of the territorial seas or continental shelf in 1966 is not held by the MoJ.

You may, however, wish to direct your request to The National Archives (TNA) as they may hold some of the information you are seeking. The contact address for TNA is The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU.

With regard to the information requested on any other agreements made between the Isle of Man and the UK on these issues, and on any such agreement concluded in 1991 we are working with the Home Office to conduct a search of their records.

As you may be aware, responsibility for the management of the relationship between the Crown Dependencies and the UK was transferred from the Home Secretary to the Lord Chancellor in 2001. The transfer did include Crown Dependencies paper records. However, to ensure that our search is as thorough as possible, we routinely undertake a records search with the Home Office on receipt of requests for information that pre-dates the transfer.

We will not be able to tell you whether the information you have requested on any post 1966 agreements is held until the records search is completed and this is unlikely to be concluded before the end of December 2009. However, we aim to provide you with a final response by 22 January 2010.

I am sorry that I have not been able to be of more assistance at present.

As part of our obligations under the FOIA, the MoJ has an independent review process. If you are dissatisfied with this decision, you may write to request an internal review. The internal review will be carried out by someone who did not make the original decision, and they will re-assess how the Department handled the original request.

If you wish to request an internal review, please write or send an email to the Data Access and Compliance Unit within two months of the date of this letter, at the following address:

Data Access and Compliance Unit

Information Directorate

Ministry of Justice

1^st Floor, Zone 1C

Post point 1.41

102 Petty France

London

SW1H 9AJ

e-mail: [email address]

If you remain dissatisfied after an internal review decision, you have the right to apply to the Information Commissioner's Office under Section 50 of the FOIA. You can contact the Information Commissioner's Office at the following address:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Internet: https://www.ico.gov.uk/Global/contact_us.aspx

Yours sincerely

Sarah Smith