Howard Davis Hall (FOI)

Request

A

How was the decision to change the function of the Howard Davis Hall arrived at? Was there a steering party? Was there public consultation? 

B

What tender process was used to choose an independent administrator for the event site? 

C

How is the property financed?

D

Does the chosen operator pay a fee for the exclusive use of the building?

E

Does the Government pay the new administrators a fee?

F

Where was the invitation to tender advertised?

G

Who administers the Fiscal Stimulus Fund?

H

Who carried out the refurbishment of the hall?

I

What tender process was used for the restoration works?

Response

A

Howard Davis Hall was renovated using funds from the Fiscal Stimulus Fund during 2021 / 2022 which had the aim to stimulate the local economy in areas affected by the pandemic. The project was led by a Project Board. A three-month consultation was undertaken with the general public using the services of the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.

B

There was no tender process as Howard Davis Hall is currently subject to a two-year pilot scheme to manage day to day events management under a service level agreement.

C

The property was renovated using funds from the Fiscal Stimulus Fund and sits within the budgetary management of the Office of the Superintendent Registrar.

D

A commercial agreement is in place which includes an agreed payment scheme. 

E

No.

F

There was no invitation to tender as the matter is subject to a two-year pilot scheme.

G

The Fiscal Stimulus Fund was administered by a board within the Government of Jersey.

H and I

The refurbishment of the Hall was carried out by several local contractors and artisans in line with Government of Jersey tender processes.

Further information is available in the following links:

Channel Islands Tenders (channelislandtenders.com)

Procurement Best Practice and Procedures User Guide and Toolkit.pdf (gov.je)

Article 33(b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

Article applied

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest Test

Since the exemption which is engaged is a qualified, not an absolute, exemption, a public interest test has been conducted as required by Article 9(2) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 to assess whether, in all circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information is outweighed by the public interest in not doing so. Information disclosed is considered to be public information, and while there is a presumption towards disclosure, consideration needs to be given as to who will have access to this information beyond the requestor and the purposes for which they could use the information. 

The Government of Jersey has assessed the impact of releasing specific information regarding the tender process, in order to decide whether disclosure would, or would likely, prejudice their commercial interests or those of any third party(ies). This information, if released, would likely prejudice their commercial interests, including future negotiations.