Requirement Specification for the original tender doc (FOI)Requirement Specification for the original tender doc (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Government of Jersey and published on
22 January 2025.Prepared internally, no external costs.
Request
What was the Requirement Specification for the original tender process for the ferry contracts for both islands?
Response
The requested information is exempt under Articles 33 and 34 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011
Articles 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).
Public Interest Test
Article 33 is a prejudice-based exemption. That means that 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 Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) 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.
Article 34 - The economy
Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –
(a) the economic interests of Jersey; or
(b) the financial interests of the States of Jersey.
Public Interest Test
Article 34 is a qualified exemption which requires there to be a likelihood of prejudice against the economic interests of Jersey or the financial interests of the States of Jersey. Whilst this could include reputational concerns, the larger concern is whether the economic interests of the Government of Jersey could be prejudiced by the release of information that could undermine Jersey's reputation.
The following extract from the guidance of the UK Information Commissioner should also be noted:
The exemption concerns the effect on the economy rather than the government's ability to manage the economy. However, since it is an aim of governments to improve economic prosperity, weakening the government's control over the economy may also damage the economy itself.
Public interest would not be served by disclosing information which may have a detrimental impact on the economy.