Ministers expenses and purchase card spend 2016 to-date (FOI)

Request

For the following 12 individuals:

• Kristina Moore
• Tom Binet
• Inna Gardiner
• Ian Gorst
• Carolyn Labey
• Helen Miles
• Elaine Millar
• Kirsten Morel
• Philip Ozouf
• Jonathan Renouf
• David Warr
• Karen Wilson

A

Please provide an itemised list of all expense claims (including travel, accommodation, entertainment, refreshments, other spends) from 1 January 2016 to-date.

B

Please provide an itemised list of all spends on Government purchase cards, from 1 January 2016 to-date.

Response

Please find details below of transactions that fall within the parameters of the request. Please note that information for the periods within which the named individuals were in office has been provided. 

Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to some of the requested information where this information has already been published.  

A

Information on expenses is accessible on www.gov.je in response to previous Freedom of Information requests. Please see the following links: 

Ministerial expenses claimed (FOI)

Jersey Overseas Aid and International Development costs and expenses (FOI)

Please see attachment 1 which provides any expense claims by Senator / Deputy Gorst and Senator / Deputy Kristina Moore from June 2017 to date, the period not covered by the previous responses. 

It also details Deputy Labey’s expense claims from January 2016 to August 2022, which were paid by The Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOAC). JOAC is not a scheduled public authority and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. Only limited information in respect of these expenses is held by the Government of Jersey. 

Ministerial Expenses from July 2022 to December 2022 will be published on the Government of Jersey Website in May 2023. Article 36 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law has been applied. 

Attachment 1.pdf

B 

Information on purchase cards is accessible on www.gov.je in response to previous Freedom of Information requests. Please see the following links: 

Spend on Government Purchase Cards since July 2022 (FOI) 

Ministers Purchase Cards and Gifts and Hospitality (FOI)

Government of Jersey Purchase Cards (FOI)

Purchase Card Expenses Senator Gorst and Senator Ozouf (FOI)

Please see attachment 2  which provides information relating to purchase card spend not covered by the above responses, which provides a breakdown of Senator / Deputy Gorst’s purchase card spend from August 2019 to the end of June 2022. 

Attachment 2.pdf

No other purchase cards were held by any of the 12 named individuals. 

Article applied

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information.

Article 36 - Information intended for future publication

(1) Information is qualified exempt information if, at the time when the request for the

information is made, the information is being held by a public authority with a view to its

being published within 12 weeks of the date of the request.

(2) A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground

must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant –

(a) of the date when the information will be published;

(b) of the manner in which it will be published; and

(c) by whom it will be published.

(3) In this Article, “published” means published –

(a) by a public authority; or

(b) by any other person.

Public Interest Test 

Article 36 is a qualified exemption, which means that a public interest test has to be undertaken to examine the circumstances of the case and decide whether, on balance, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.  

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure  

• disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public.

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information

• It is intended to publish the Minister’s expenses within 12 weeks of the receipt of this request on www.gov.je. In it is reasonable for government to publish reports in an orderly manner, following completion of appropriate internal processes, and publishing in advance, and in such close proximity to the expected publication date, would potentially undermine the orderly publication and conduct of government work (when the public benefit of earlier publication under the Law would derive limited benefit).