States tell companies to open up - but ministers go missing for key vote

Wednesday 26 November 2014

The public will have the legal right to all sorts of information from the likes of JT, the States of Jersey Development Company, the JEC and Jersey Water after the States backed rebel proposals to force them to publish it.

In a major blow to Chief Minister Ian Gorst on the first day of the new States term, all States-owned companies will be subject to the new Freedom of Information Law.

His protests weren’t enough to stop a 22-19 loss – and three of his key supporters didn’t even make it to the vote.

Although no timeframe has been set for the companies to have to start complying with the law, the new Freedom of Information legislation is due to start from 1 January. Beyond the huge cost of compliance, companies who operate in competitive markets such as JT and Jersey Post face huge potential problems if they are forced to open their books to competitors under the law, while Jersey Electricity’s position as a listed company that has to make all announcements to the Stock Exchange is potentially even more difficult.

Under the law, personal data or information supplied confidentially is exempt from being released, and there is a “qualified exemption” for commercially sensitive data – meaning that the new independent regulator, the Channel Islands Information Commission, could rule that it should be released if it were found to be in the public interest to do so.

It’s a bad start for Senator Gorst, who has been keen to champion FoI legislation but who had urged Members not to back the proposals by Deputy Carolyn Labey, saying it would mean higher costs for the businesses that were likely to be passed on to consumers, and more wariness from other businesses about working with them.

But despite all of his momentum – topping the poll, securing a second term as Chief Minister unopposed, and getting all of his ministerial picks approved by the States – the proposals were passed by 22 votes to 19.

And even Senator Gorst’s own ministers didn’t all back him – Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham and External Relations Minister Philip Bailhache both missed the vote (as did five other Members) and the Assistant Minister for the Finance and Digital industries, Senator Philip Ozouf, was out of the Island. Assistant Treasury Minister (which acts as the shareholder for the states-owned utilities) Deputy Tracey Vallois voted in favour of the proposals. 

Deputy Labey said that she was really pleased with the result.

"We should be open and transparent and do things in this way, it's 2014," she said.

"I am very pleased, and I think that it would have been detrimental to the government not to do it."