Residential Tenancy law proposals 2024 (FOI)

Request

Please could the Minister for Housing to publish the original Findings document on Improving Residential Tenancies in Jersey: Residential Tenancy law proposals. The document was created in the first 2 weeks of January 2024 and is the documented feedback of a 10-week consultation that took place in summer 2023. 

Response

The policy document will be published within 12 weeks of the initial date of this request; therefore Article 36 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

The policy document requested has also been withheld from release under Article 35 (Formulation and Development of Policies) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as it has not been finalised.

Article applied 

Article 35 - Formulation and development of policies

Information is qualified exempt information if it relates to the formulation or development of any proposed policy by a public authority.

Public Interest Test 

Article 35 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.  

Although there is a need for transparency, accountability, financial and good decision making by public authorities this information relates to an ongoing situation. The Scheduled Public Authority, and indeed good government, requires Ministers to be provided with full, frank advice from officials about the possible impact of proposed policy, and for Ministers and officials to be able to discuss and test those proposed policies in a comprehensive way.   

The following considerations were taken into account:  

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure:  

• disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public.
• disclosure to the public fulfils an educative role about the early stages in policy development and illustrates how the department engages with parties for this purpose. 

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information:  

• in order to best develop policy, Officers and Ministers need a safe space in which free and frank discussion can take place. The need for this safe space is considered at its greatest during the live stages of a policy. Sharing views is important to ensure that all relevant considerations are taken into account in developing and implementing policy. Disclosure at a time when these views are still being considered would negatively impact the Department's ability to fully consider the information
• the need for this safe space is considered at its greatest during the live stages of a policy
• release of the information at this stage might generate misinformed debate in areas where future options have yet to be finalised. This would affect the ability of officials to consider and develop policy away from external pressures, and to advise Ministers appropriately
• disclosure of this information may limit the willingness of parties to provide their honest views and feedback in future. This would hamper and harm the policy–making process not only in relation to this subject area but in respect of future policy development across wider Departmental business.

Taking into account the various factors, the Scheduled Public Authority decided in favour of withholding 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 relevant documentation on www.gov.je within 12 weeks of the receipt of this request. 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). ​