Medical Aid provided to Palestinians (FOI)

Request

Jersey Overseas Aid is a Scheduled Public Authority. 

It has given £103,000 to Medical Aid for Palestinians for Promoting Women's Rights and Inclusive Health.

Please provide all correspondence relating to the selection process for this charity, reviews of the funding proposals, risk assessments, Minutes of its Commissioners, all details of the robust controls that are in place to ensure the aid reached intended beneficiaries and was not diverted for unauthorised uses and all correspondence relating to tracking how the money was spent.

Response 

Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOA) is not a Scheduled Public Authority under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 therefore not subject to Freedom of information Legislation. 

It is noted that paragraph (3) of Schedule 1 of Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law captures bodies established by the Assembly.

JOA does fall within the meaning of the term "a body, office or unit of administration of the States" as defined in Article 1 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as follows: 

"administration of the States" means – 

(a) a department established on behalf of the States; and 

(b) a body, office or unit of administration, established on behalf of the States (including under an enactment); 

The JOA is a body established by an enactment and therefore falls within (b) of this definition. 

In the definition of "public authority" in Article 1 of the Law, the public authorities that are an "administration of the States" are referred to as a distinct type of public body from the bodies established by a resolution of the Assembly or under Standing Orders.

Under the Law, paragraph (4) of Schedule 1 makes it clear that a subset of that group, namely the Government Departments established on behalf of the States, were Scheduled Public Authorities.  The effect of the Law is that the JOA and other bodies, offices and units of administration established by an enactment are public authorities that are capable of being added to Schedule 1, including using the power to amend that Schedule in Article 6 of Law,  however they are not covered by Schedule 1 unless so added (this is illustrated by the addition of the Children Commissioner to Schedule 1 when that office was established).   

Schedule 1 of the Law applies to "Scheduled Public Authorities" as opposed to public authorities.

The requested information requested is therefore not held by the Government of Jersey. Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

Some information may be made available from the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission, at their discretion. Please see the contact details below:  

Contact us | Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (joa.je)

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