Non-disclosure agreements issued in 2022 and 2023 (FOI)

Request

A

How many non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) Government of Jersey agreed in 2022 and 2023? Please provide individual figures per year. 

B

Please provide the total amount of financial compensation awarded as part of these agreements for the entirety of this period in £. 

If the release of any of this information is prohibited on the grounds of breach of confidence, I ask that you supply me with copies of the confidentiality agreement and remind you that information should not be treated as confidential if such an agreement has not been signed.

Response

A and B

Confidentiality agreements or non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) may be signed for several different reasons, including:

• prior to or as part of a commercial arrangement at or for the benefit of the organisation
• arrangements with external investigators.
• due to certain staff members undertaking certain sensitive work; and  
• in settlement arrangements. 

The Government of Jersey does not hold a central record of all Non-Disclosure Agreements signed by the Government of Jersey. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies.    

However, the table below shows the number of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements the Government of Jersey has signed in 2022 and 2023 for staff exiting the organisation. 

All payments are processed in-line with the Public Finance Manual requirements, authorisation and approval is sought by the Accountable Officer for the department, the Law Officers’ Department, and the Treasurer. This ‘special payment’ process is in place to ensure that any payment represents good value and meets the requirements and criteria as set out in the Public Finance Manual to maintain effective financial management.

Article applied 

Article 3 - Meaning of “information held by a public authority”

For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –

(a)     it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or

(b)     it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.