Budget and grants for Connect Me (FOI)

​Request

1

The total budget for the Connect Me: Connecting Our Communities programme/scheme annually for 2021 - 2025 (budgeted for 2025) broken down into: 

a) GOJ Staff costs 

b) Grants given out 

c) Software licensing costs for Access Elemental software 

d) Funding to 3rd parties for 'Community Connector' posts 

e) Other costs.

2

A copy of the evaluation criteria for grant bids under the scheme.

​3

A list of individuals or organisations on the grant panel making decisions about the allocation of government funds to bidding organisations.

4

A list of organisations who have received grants under the programme.

5

A copy of the Job Description for 'Community Connectors' and any applicable KPI/outcome measures.

6

A list of 3rd party organisations hosting 'Community Connector' posts.

7

The Senior Responsible Officer/Accountable Officer for the programme.

8

A copy of any relevant conflict of interest policy and a copy of the register listing any conflict-of-interest declarations related to 

a) government officers 

b) members of the grant panel and 

c) bidding organisations 

d) the provider of Access Elemental and the links between them.

9

A copy of the business case for the programme and any applicable KPI/outcome measures for the overall programme

10

Information on the tender process for the Access Elemental software platform including a) Dates tender was advertised b) Selection criteria c) the number of organisations who bid to provide the software d) a copy of any exemptions under the Public Finances Law involved in the purchase of the software license.

11

Information on any public consultation related to the programme, or consultation meetings with other relevant stakeholders in social prescribing (for example Health & Community Services or General Practices).

12

The length of any contract signed with Access Elemental for the provision of the platform.

13

The cost of any associated GOJ staff responsible for administering the Access Elemental platform during the contract period.

14

Copies of emails from or to senior officers (e.g. Responsible Officer, Accountable Officer, Programme Manager, Project Manager or similar job roles) of the programme with the term 'Access Elemental' included in either the subject line of the body of the email.

Response

1   

​* There are no budgeted staff costs in the Connect Me budget, as all support is from existing posts within GOJ. In 2024 additional hours were allocated to a current GOJ post to specifically support the set up and launch of the link worker programme. 

2

The evaluation criteria for grant bids under the scheme are as follows, with each element being scored from 0 to 3

• Collaboration between organisations
• Number of people impacted by the project
• Alignment to the Common Strategic Policy 2023 to 2026 (gov.je)
• Sustainability following initial funding
• Value for Money of the project 
• Originality of the project
• Alignment to the Connect Me objectives:

o engage a large cross section of the Jersey community in arts or physical activity aimed at enhancing sustainable wellbeing over the next 2 years

o increase participation in the arts or physical activity across the Island

o stimulate the creative economy by providing coordinated work for creatives and arts practitioners

o provide a means for Government to progress towards the delivery of the strategic objectives.

3

Director of Local Services - Paul McGinnety

The Sector Lead, Arts Culture Heritage

Local Services Manager

CLS Customer Services Assistant

2 x Arts Culture and Heritage Sector Officers. 

The Scheduled Public Authority has determined that to provide the names of less senior staff would breach the privacy of the individuals concerned who have an expectation to privacy. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied. 

4

Please see attached list of organisations who have received grants under the programme. 

List of organisations that have received grants.pdf

5

Please see attached a copy of the Job Description for 'Community Connectors' and any applicable KPI / outcome measures. 

Connector job description.pdf

6

Please see attached a list of third-party organisations hosting 'Community Connector' posts.

List of third party organisations hosting Community Connector posts.pdf

7

Paul McGinnety, Director of Local Services is Senior Responsible Officer and Ian Burns, previous Chief Officer Customer and Local Services has been Accountable Officer.  From 1st September 2024, Accountable Officer responsibility has been taken on by Sophie Le Sueur, Interim Chief Officer.   

8

The following link is to the Public Finances Manual held on www.gov.je.

Public Finances Manual Conflicts of Interest Section (gov.je)​

There were no conflicts of interests declared.   

9

Please see attached a copy of the business case for the programme and any applicable KPI / outcome measures for the overall programme. 

Business case.pdf

10

The amount spent on purchasing Access Elemental was under the threshold for the tender process to be implemented.  

11

Numerous stakeholder engagements include primary care and other government departments, pharmacies, and third sector organisations. This included the Cluster Group and Networks (Homelessness, Cancer, Disability, Children and Young People) the Mental Health Partnership Board, number of charities throughout the project, Family Nursing and Homecare, Adult Social Care management, Public Health representation. 

12

The current contract is for a duration of 12 months. 

13

Other than the staff costs in the table above, the administration of the platform has been done within current GOJ posts within existing salary budgets and no breakdown of cost is held.

This information is therefore not held and Article 10 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied.

14

The attached PDF documents contains copies of the requested emails. 

Attachment Correspondence.pdf​

The Scheduled Public Authority has determined that to provide the names of less senior staff would breach the privacy of the individuals concerned who have an expectation to privacy. Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) law 2011 has therefore been applied. Redactions in respect of Article 25 have been made in black.

The Scheduled Public Authority considers that providing information in relation to the implementation of the Access Elemental platform in Jersey could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties. Therefore Article 33 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. Redactions in respect of Article 33 have been made in orange.

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.

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).

Public Interest Test 

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 cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. In addition, this is a qualified exemption and consideration must be given to the public interest in maintaining the exemption. 

The attachments to emails and in some cases the content in the body of the emails provide commercially sensitive information between the 3rd party supplier and the GoJ. This is specific to the implementation of the Access Elemental platform in Jersey and could be used for the purpose of rival trade and commerce. For example, it could be used for the purpose of trade, negotiations with other parties and also provides commercially sensitive pricing information. This information could be advantageous to rivals and as such has been withheld from release. 

Emails that contained attachments exempted for commercial sensitivity have been released although reference to the requested term “Access Elemental” is no longer apparent, it having been contained only within the exempted attachment. 

The Scheduled Public Authority considers that providing information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties. There may be public interest in the commercial information, however it was considered that this is outweighed by the potential for commercial and or financial damage.