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WQ.219/2023
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF MINISTER BY DEPUTY L.V. FELTHAM OF ST. HELIER CENTRAL QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 15th MAY 2023 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 22nd MAY 2023
Question
“Will the Assistant Chief Minister with responsibility for Government communications outline –
- what work has been undertaken to ensure that Government communications and consultations are inclusive and accessible to all relevant stakeholder groups;
- what advice she or her officers provided to the Minister for Housing and Communities or his officers about the public consultation ‘Improving Residential Tenancies in Jersey - Residential Tenancy Law Reform proposals’ and related communications; and
- the Government policy concerning provision of translations and other accessible formats?”
Answer
- The Communications Directorate has liaised with the Government’s accessibility champion to better understand requirements for audiences with differing accessibility needs. This includes a presentation on accessibility requirements to the Communications Directorate. All communication strategies include consideration of accessibility. For example, this includes the use of subtitles on all videos, better use of visual data (infographics) rather than text in reports, less reliance on PDFs and a focus on easily scrollable information on gov.je, and communications being produced in more languages (where appropriate).
The Government’s Engagement and Information Review is specifically addressing inclusivity and accessibility of Government communications and consultations, particularly where the Government website is concerned.
- Officers in the Communications team supported the Minister for Housing and Communities, and his officers, by developing and implementing a communications handling plan for this consultation. A news release, widely picked up by the local media, was produced to coincide with the launch. Officers in the communications team and officers in the Minister’s team have been working closely together on the second phase of the consultation, which is focusing on more direct engagement, in particular with communities which do not have English as their first language. Communications colleagues have also guided the Housing team on how best to promote upcoming tenant-focused and landlord-focused meetings. This includes posters, translated into a number of languages, social media “events” and a Ministerial video to clearly explain the key points from the proposals, and how Islanders can have their say. The teams have also worked closely to develop feedback postcards, again in multiple languages, to encourage those who do not have the time or the desire to read the full consultation document to provide succinct feedback on the key points of the consultation paper.
- All communication strategies include consideration of language needs.