Health and Community Services Rheumatology statement to media (2) (FOI)

​​​​Request

​A

Further to the previous Freedom of Information response below, please provide evidence that Mr Patrick Armstrong MBE, or a member of his team, has been in contact with the police and exactly by what means:

Health and Community Services Rheumatology statement to media (FOI)​

B

Please provide a date and form of communication of this correspondence. 

Response

A and B

A letter from the Medical Director of Health and Community Services, dated 27 March 2024, was delivered to the Head of Crime Services for States of Jersey Police.

Duty to Notify Death_Redacted inc Sig.pdf​

In consideration of Freedom of Information legislation, redactions have been applied to the contents of the letter to protect the privacy of individuals, and to mitigate against prejudice to future inquest hearings and potential future criminal investigations. Redactions have been colour coded for ease of reference, as follows:

Yellow Personal Information – Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011

Red Other prohibitions or restrictions – Article 29 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011; 

and 

Law Enforcement – Article 42 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 

As noted in response to a Ministerial question of April 2024:

wq.153-2024.pdf (statesassembly.gov.je): 

“No criminal investigation is underway at this stage, the States of Jersey Police routinely considers any referral which may be made to them, including whether any requisite legal thresholds / tests have been met.” 

Whilst no investigation is currently underway, Article 42 [Law enforcement] has been applied in respect of any future investigation(s) that may be warranted.

Articles applied

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 29 - Other prohibitions or restrictions

Information is absolutely exempt information if the disclosure of the information by the scheduled public authority holding it –

(a) is prohibited by or under an enactment;

(b) is incompatible with a European Union or an international obligation that applies to Jersey; or

(c) would constitute or be punishable as a contempt of court.

Article 42 - Law enforcement

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a) the prevention, detection or investigation of crime, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

(b) the apprehension or prosecution of offenders, whether in respect of offences committed in Jersey or elsewhere;

(c) the administration of justice, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

(d) the assessment or collection of a tax or duty or of an imposition of a similar nature;

(e) the operation of immigration controls, whether in Jersey or elsewhere;

(f) the maintenance of security and good order in prisons or in other institutions where persons are lawfully detained;

(g) the proper supervision or regulation of financial services; or

(h) the exercise, by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, of any function imposed on it by any enactment.

Public Interest Test

Article 42 is a qualified exemption and, as such, a prejudice test has been conducted, as required by law.

It has been assessed whether, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in supplying the information contained within the requested correspondence is outweighed by the prejudice that would likely result by doing so. It is recognised that there is a public interest in transparency, and wherever possible, information is disclosed. However, having considered the public interest, it has been concluded that the public interest in disclosing certain information is outweighed by the prejudice to future investigations that would likely result from disclosure, and redactions have been applied to these elements.

Whilst Article 42 is a qualified exemption and its application requires a prejudice test to weigh the public interest in disclosure against the impact that would likely result, all information that has been considered as exempt from disclosure under Article 42 for this Freedom of Information response is also exempt from disclosure under an absolute exemption, Article 29, and all information redacted in red is withheld in both respects equally.​