Vacant properties on census day (FOI)

Request

Provide a breakdown of the 4,027 vacant dwellings on Census Day: by Parish and within each parish by type ,e.g., Privately owned, states owned and by size, e.g. one bedroom apartment, two bedroom apartment, two bedroom house, three bedroom house., etc.

Response

The information requested is intended for publication on www.gov.je within 12 weeks of the date of this request as part of future census bulletins - Article 36 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (information intended for future publication) has therefore been applied.   

The information will likely follow the same format as the 2011 Census (depending on the data collected and subsequent analysis) to include the total number of dwellings vacant on census day by parish and type of dwelling (i.e. House/flat) and the number of bedrooms. Where available, information on the reason for a property being vacant will also be published.

No information will be provided which could identify individual properties, as it is considered that its disclosure into the public domain would likely create an opportunity for break-ins and/or vandalism and is exempt under Article 42 (Law Enforcement) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Articles applied

Article 36 - Information intended for future publication

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if, at the time when the request for the

information is made, the information is being held by a public authority with a view to its

being published within 12 weeks of the date of the request.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground

must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant –

(a) of the date when the information will be published;

(b) of the manner in which it will be published; and

(c) by whom it will be published.

(3) In this Article, “published” means published –

(a) by a public authority; or

(b) by any other person.

Public Interest Test 

Article 36 is a qualified exemption, which means that a public interest test has to be undertaken to examine the circumstances of the case and decide whether, on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure 

• disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public. 

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information

• It is intended to publish bulletins relating to census data within 12 weeks of the receipt of this request on www.gov.je. The information is currently being collated prior to publication and therefore it is not possible to release it at this stage.

Article 42 - Law enforcement

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

(a) the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere

Public Interest Test

Article 42 is a qualified exemption and as such a public interest test has been completed. The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) has assessed whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information is outweighed by the public interest in not doing so. It is recognised that there is a public interest in providing transparency about the information collated as part of the census. However, having considered the public interest, the SPA has concluded that the public interest in disclosing this information is outweighed by the public interest in withholding the information, in order to prevent potential criminality and maintain security within the island.