Cost of new States of Jersey Police website (FOI)

​Original ​Request

Please confirm the cost of creating the new States of Jersey Police website (launch announced Friday 16 August 2024) as well as which firm or designer carried out the work and whether said firm or designer is local and if not where they are based.

Original Response

States of Jersey Police (SoJP) can confirm that almost all costs relating to the creation of the new website were internal staff costs. The internal team comprised of two Police Officers who work within the Digital Innovation Team plus a combination of personnel from the Government of Jersey’s Communications department (assigned to support SoJP), and other SoJP officers and staff. 

The SoJP team were supported by Infomentum, a system integration and digital experience company that is based in the UK.

The cost of the support provided by Infomentum is commercially sensitive. Government of Jersey procurement rules and Public Finances Law were followed throughout. Article 33 (b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

Article applied

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Article 33 (b) is a prejudice-based exemption. That means that in order to engage this exemption there must be a likelihood that disclosure would, or would likely, cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. Additionally, this is a qualified exemption and consideration must be given to the public interest in maintaining the exemption. 

​The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) considers that providing confidential contract information in this case could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties.

Public Interest Test

There is a legitimate public interest in understanding the costs associated with the creation of the website.

The agreement is marked “Confidential” and the contract states that their confidential information should be protected. Discounts were provided to SoJP, details of which, if published, would likely prejudice the commercial interests of Infomentum.

Whilst acknowledging the public interest in releasing details of costs, SoJP has a duty to protect the commercial interests of suppliers and ensure trust and confidence in not disclosing confidential information. It is therefore not in the public interest to disclose the information relating to the costs of Infomentum’s services.​

​Internal Review Request

I would like to appeal this response as I believe the public interest in understanding the cost involved in creating the website (including the support provided by Infomentum) outweighs the commercial sensitivity of the data. 

Particularly in light of the recent emphasis on financial stability and value for money:

Jersey police form cost-saving budget plan following `public financing pressures’ (jerseyeveningpost.com)​

Internal Review Response

This internal review has been conducted by a senior member of staff from within the States of Jersey Police, independent of the original decision-making process.

The original response has been reviewed and assessed to identify whether the exemption had been applied correctly and whether it was appropriate to withhold information.

The independent reviewer acknowledges that the agreement made between Infomentum and the States of Jersey Police was marked as confidential, hence the value of the contract being withheld in order to preserve the integrity of the agreement. 

However, subsequent negotiations with Infomentum have resulted in there being a consensus that the total amount of the agreement can now be released.

Outcome

The independent reviewer has concluded that it is appropriate to release the total contract value for the creation of the force website, which includes design, branding, user experience and training. The total amount paid was £19,999.