Breastfeeding comments in the States Assembly (FOI)

​Request

A
i) Was John Le Bailly's breast feeding comment taken out of context?

ii) If so, given the delivery of his interrupted "speech", which public body put him up to stating what he did (or what he meant to say)?

iii) If so, what did he mean to read out and/or imply?

iv) If not, what did he mean to read out and/or imply?

v) If not, why was he interrupted?

B
i) What is the Government of Jersey's official response to John Le Bailly's statement?

ii) What is the Government of Jersey's view on why breast feeding is attracting media attention?

C
i) Have there been any complaints to Jersey Hospital regarding breast feeding?

ii) If so, how many?

iii) If so, can you please summarise into a classification of (ir)rationale?

D
i) Does the Government of Jersey envisage any implication of such media attention impacting on the supply of Jersey Milk?

ii) Does the Government of Jersey envisage any implication of such media attention impacting on the future of St. Mary?

Please include statistics where relevant.

Response

A
In relation to Parts A i) to A iv) of the request, the States Greffe does not hold any information beyond the transcript and webcast of the proceedings held during the morning of Thursday 24 October 2019. Links to both have been provided below. The relevant section in the transcript is 2.1.8, whilst in the webcast the relevant section may be viewed at time index 42:42.

Transcript of 24th October 2019
Webcast of 24th October 2019

In relation to Part A v) of the request, the applicant is also directed to the relevant sections of the transcript and webcast of the proceedings, as above, in order to read (or watch) what the Bailiff said. When responding to the point of order that was raised in respect of the speech of the Connétable of St. Mary, reference was made by the Bailiff to the requirement under Standing Orders for speeches to be relevant to the proposition being debated. This was a reference to Standing Order 104(1), which reads as follows:

“A speech by a member of the States must be relevant to the business being discussed.”

This section of the response has been issued on behalf of the States Greffe. The States Greffe is responsible for the information held by (and on behalf of) both itself and the States Assembly. Neither the States Assembly nor the States Greffe form part of the Government of Jersey and the Government was not involved either in the examination and retrieval of any information required for this response, nor in the drafting of the response itself.

B
i) The Government is fully supportive of breastfeeding, and the rights of new mothers to breastfeed, including by encouraging the provision of safe places in the workplace, where women can breastfeed or express milk for their babies. Research supports breast milk as the best option for infant feeding in terms of a baby’s overall health and development, although a mother’s decision about how she feeds her baby needs to be based on what she feels is right for her and her baby.

ii) This question is asking for opinion and not information held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. It is therefore not possible to respond to this part of the request.

C
No record of any complaints made in relation to breastfeeding are held.

D
i) and ii) This question is asking for opinion and not information held for the purposes of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. It is therefore not possible to respond to this part of the request.