Positions of Director and Deputy Director of Civil Aviation (FOI)

Request

My questions relate to the positions of Director of Civil Aviation (DCA) and Deputy Director of Civil Aviation:

A

I would like to see all correspondence between Jersey and the Island of Guernsey regarding the allegations of incompetence on the part of the DCA (Dominic Lazarus) and Guernsey's intention to dismiss him.

B

Guernsey officials also alleged that the DCA had revealed confidential information about the Guernsey Aircraft Registry to Jersey. I would like to see any correspondence / minutes relating to these allegations.

C

Further all correspondence between the Jersey Authorities and the DCA regarding Guernsey's allegations of incompetence and providing confidential information to the Jersey Authorities

D

I would like to see any papers held by the Jersey Government discussing whether Jersey should also dismiss him.

E

I would like to know the process that was adopted to appoint the Deputy Director of Aviation (Inez Bartolo). Was it advertised? Was the Appointments Commission involved and to what extent?

F

Has the post of DCA now been permanently filled and if so was it advertised and what was the role of the Appointments Commission in the exercise?

Response

A to D

The External Relations Department issued a statement on 30 November 2020. A link to the statement can be found below:

Director of Civil Aviation

Other information on our files relating to this matter is qualified exempt under Articles 25, 31, 32 and 41 (1)(b) and (3)(a) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 and is, therefore, withheld.

E and F

Ms Bartolo was contracted by the Director of Civil Aviation and is not a civil servant. However, the appointment was made with the support of the Government of Jersey.

There had been a vacancy for a combined post of Deputy Director Civil Aviation and Aviation Security Regulator since 2019. Despite two rounds of recruitment that were advertised externally, including on www.gov.je, it was not possible to appoint a suitable candidate into the role.

The appointment was made on an initial 12 month contract in line with the public finance rules and approved by the States Employment Board.

Following the former DCA’s resignation, Ms Bartolo was appointed as acting DCA under Article 5(2) of the Civil Aviation (Jersey) Law 2008.

Articles applied

Article 25 Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if – (a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and (b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

Article 31 Advice by the Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff or a Law Officer

Information is qualified exempt information if it is or relates to the provision of advice by the Bailiff, Deputy Bailiff or the Attorney General or the Solicitor General.

Article 32 Legal professional privilege

Information is qualified exempt information if it is information in respect of which a claim to legal professional privilege could be maintained in legal proceedings

Article 41 International relations

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice relations between Jersey and –

(a) the United Kingdom;

(b) a State other than Jersey;

(c) an international organization; or

(d) an international court.

(2) Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a) any Jersey interests abroad; or

(b) the promotion or protection by Jersey of any such interest.

(3) Information is also qualified exempt information if it is confidential information obtained from –

(a) a State other than Jersey;

(b) an international organization; or

(c) an international court.

(4) In this Article, information obtained from a State, organization or court is confidential while –

(a) the terms on which it was obtained require it to be held in confidence; or

(b) the circumstances in which it was obtained make it reasonable for the State, organization or court to expect that it will be so held.

(5) In this Article –

“international court” means an international court that is not an international organization and that was established –

(a) by a resolution of an international organization of which the United Kingdom is a member; or

(b) by an international agreement to which the United Kingdom was a party;

“international organization” means an international organization whose members include any two or more States, or any organ of such an organization;

“State” includes the government of a State and any organ of its government, and references to a State other than Jersey include references to a territory for whose external relations the United Kingdom is formally responsible.

Public Interest Test

The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) is withholding the release of the information as some of the information contained in the emails relates to the provision of Law Officer advice. Articles 31 and 32 are qualified exemptions, which means that a public interest test is required. The public interest in disclosing information when these articles are being applied must weigh particularly heavily in favour of disclosure in order to outweigh the inherent right to privilege. It is not considered the public interest in disclosing the information is outweighed by that in maintaining the exemption, as it is designed to protect the constitutional Law Officer privilege.

The public interest in respect of Article 41 is weighted in favour of maintaining the exemption unless equally strong countervailing public interest arguments favour the disclosure of the information. It is recognised that there is a public interest in providing transparency about individuals with whom the Government have liaised. However, having considered the public interest, the Scheduled Public Authority concluded that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the public interest considerations in withholding the information, in support of the Island’s interests and to avoid any potential prejudice to the Island’s relationship Guernsey.