Isolation exemption for French construction workers (FOI)

Request

The government has exempted the French construction workers on the Horizon site from having to isolate. Please provide the following information regarding those French construction workers:

A

How many have tested positive for Covid-19?

B

How much have their Covid-19 tests cost the taxpayer?

C

Has the taxpayer covered any of their isolation costs and, if so, what is the cost?

Response

The French constructions working on the Horizon site were granted exemptions from isolation solely for the purpose of undertaking their work. The exemptions were granted on the condition that: when on the site they were completely segregated from non-isolating workers at all times; they remained in isolation at their accommodation at all times when not at work.

A

Of all the French construction workers who have worked on the Horizon site, less than five have tested positive for Covid-19. Disclosure control is applied to numbers fewer than five under Article 25 (Personal information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.

B

The total cost of their Covid-19 tests is £92,394.

C

The taxpayer has not covered any of their isolation costs.

Article 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.

(3) In determining for the purposes of this Article whether the lawfulness principle in Article 8(1)(a) of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 would be contravened by the disclosure of information, paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2 to that Law (legitimate interests) is to be read as if sub-paragraph (b) (which disapplies the provision where the controller is a public authority) were omitted.