Summary/Decision
1. On 24 April 2024, the Complainant requested certain information from Health and Community Services (SPA1) about correspondence that had passed between the Minister for Health and Community Services and others regarding the departure of the then chair of the Health and Community Services Advisory Board (the Request).
2. The Complainant ought to have received a response to their Request by 22 May 2024 (20 working days). No response was received from SPA1. Accordingly, the Complainant was able to view this failure as a refusal “to supply the information on the ground that it is absolutely exempt information” and issued an appeal to the Information Commissioner (the Commissioner) on 10 October 2024 (the Appeal).
3. Following the intervention of the Commissioner, SPA2 ultimately wrote to the Complainant on 2 December 2024 providing certain information (albeit redacted) (the Response) but withholding other information (the Withheld Information) citing the exemption at Art.25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (the FOI Law).
4. The Complainant indicated that they did not agree with the Response, raising concerns with the level of redaction that had been applied to the documentation and questioning whether sufficient searches had been carried out give the paucity of information provided. The Complainant also maintained their concerns regarding the time taken to respond to the Request. Given the time that had elapsed since the Complainant made their initial Request and SPA2’s provision of a Response, the Commissioner did not require the Complainant to request any internal review, instead indicating that those issues would be dealt with by the Commissioner as part of the appeal process, as permitted by Art.46 of the FOI Law.
5. Whilst the Commissioner’s decision is to that the appeal is partially upheld, this relates to the time aspect of the Request only; the appeal is not upheld in respect of the Withheld Information and the application of Art.25 of the FOI Law, which the Commissioner considers was appropriately applied. There are, accordingly, no further steps the SPA needs to take in relation to this matter.
