Slow progress of necessary law

From Jennifer Bridge.

VIRTUALLY all of what might be called Western modern-style democracies have a freedom of information law in place, yet all we have in Jersey is an unenforceable code, which is no more than an administrative guideline.

There was a depressing familiarity to the report on the progress of the proposed Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law by Ben Quérée (JEP, 18 May).

The Council of Ministers have asked for a review of the proposed costs of implementing a freedom of information law in Jersey, a classic stalling tactic lifted straight out of the script of ‘Yes Minister’.

I would wager that if the Privileges and Procedures Committee acquiesce and spend time and money on further research, the Council of Ministers will challenge the figures. Nothing will be gained and we, the public, will be no nearer having a legal right to government information.

This is, in fact, a non-issue, as cost does not have to be set in stone in the main body of the law (where changes require Privy Council approval), but can be dealt with in the regulations where, in the light of experience, adjustments can be made which can have a direct bearing on cost.

The key issue is that there must be a balance. Evidently, if the costs to the public are too high, they will prohibit their effective use of the law.

The fact is, ministers are already required to ensure they have appropriate information management systems in place. If ministers say there will be extra costs, I would suggest these will arise from a failure to meet the standards of records management required by the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005 and the Public Records (Jersey) Law 2002, as amended.

If their houses are in order, they will have no problem complying with a new freedom of information law.

Over 50 countries worldwide have established a law. Jersey wants to be known as a mature democracy with an international personality, yet our government does not afford us a legal right to government information.

And before anyone puts pen to paper questioning the effectiveness of a freedom of information law, let me remind them of how the UK Parliamentary expenses scandal was brought to the fore by the dogged use of the UK freedom of information law by the journalist and freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke.