Latest fire and RAAC assessments for school buildings (FOI)

Request 693493600

I would like to request, for each school in Jersey, a copy of the most recent fire assessment and the most recent RAAC assessment.

Response

The release of the school Fire Assessments are exempt under Article 33(b) (Commercial Interests) and Article 38(b) (Endangering the safety or health of individuals) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Article 33 and Article 38 are qualified exemptions; therefore, public interest tests have been applied and are shown at the end of this response.

Attached is the RAAC Report regarding inspections that were carried out on a random selection of school buildings which were in the age bracket that would be susceptible to use of RAAC.

Please note that inspections were not carried out on all schools, therefore, Article 10 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.

Personal information within the documents has been redacted in accordance with Article 25 (Personal Information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

The release of the school blueprint is exempt under Article 38(a) (Endangering the safety or health of individuals) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

Articles applied

​Article 10 - Obligation of scheduled public authority to confirm or deny holding Information

(1) Subject to paragraph (2), if –

(a) a person makes a request for information to a scheduled public authority; and

(b) the authority does not hold the information, it must inform the applicant accordingly.

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 2005. 

(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 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

The release of the Fire Assessments (the ‘Assessments’) could potentially disadvantage the Government of Jersey’s ability to retain commercial advantage in any future tender process for any building or maintenance work that may need to be carried out.  

This could also result in the Government of Jersey’s inability to secure best value for the taxpayer, and this will likely prejudice the Government as its bargaining power decreases. 

It is in the public interest to be made aware of any fire risks, however, it is considered that the likely prejudices to the Government and the taxpayer should this information be released outweigh the argument that the release is in the public interest.

Article 38 - Endangering the safety or health of individuals

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

(a) endanger the safety of an individual; or

(b) endanger the physical or mental health of an individual.

Public interest test 38 (a)

​Whilst there may be public interest in releasing the RAAC Report in full, the disclosure of buildings blueprints could potentially provide a roadmap for unauthorised access or damage undermining safety protocols.

Taking the above in consideration, while transparency is important, the public interest in disclosure must be weighed against potential harm caused by attracting malicious actors and or unauthorised access to the premises. 

On balance and considering the risk of endangering people’s safety, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the benefits of disclosing the information.

Public interest test 38 (b)

Whilst there may be public interest in releasing the requested School Fire Assessments detailing fire risk ratings, it is necessary to point out that these Assessments were completed a few years ago and significant improvements were executed since, therefore, the requested Fire Assessments are outdated.

Taking the above in consideration, while transparency is important, the public interest in disclosure must be weighed against potential harm caused by misinformation. 

On balance, the risk of causing any potential impact on mental health caused by spreading misinformation, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the benefits disclosing the information.