This content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost. Let us know if you find any major problems.
Text in this format is not official and should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments. Please see the PDF for the official version of the document.
STATES OF JERSEY
r
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: PROPOSED LEGISLATION (P.72/2005) – COMMENTS
Presented to the States on 21st June 2005 by the Finance and Economics Committee
STATES GREFFE
COMMENTS
The Finance and Economics Committee is fully supportive of the principle that there should be proper access to information and transparency in Government. Notwithstanding this, the Committee has seen no evidence to suggest that the Code of Practice on Public Access to Official Information is not a sufficient mechanism to ensure that proper access to information is provided.
It is difficult to estimate the costs arising from the proposed Law as they will vary depending on the number of requests for information received, however after consultation with other States departments and HM Attorney General, it is estimated that the introduction of the proposed Law could result in additional expenditure in the order of £500,000 annually and will require the creation of approximately 6 additional posts in total.
The States are already faced with stringent expenditure targets and it is not evident that the implementation of a law would add sufficient benefit to warrant further growth in manpower and expenditure. If the proposed Law is agreed by the States, the resultant increase in expenditure will have to be found from within existing spending targets at the expense of other priorities.