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Senator John Le Fondré By email
10th June 2020 Dear Chief Minister,
Scrutiny Liaison Committee (SLC) Testing and Tracing Communication
I write to follow up after the constructive meeting that was held between the SLC and yourself on Monday 8th June. At the meeting we shared with you the importance we placed, based on community feedback and our collective informed observations, on the need to ensure the appropriate communication of open and detailed information with the community. We recommended to you that in relation to the progress of the test and trace regime, it would provide reassurance to the public if the context of results of positive cases was better explained (within the confines of data protection considerations). It is our view that providing greater detail and context will be effective in securing the trust of the public and help to build confidence in the actions that your Government is taking on their behalf.
Experience has shown that gaps in knowledge and information within the community prove highly counter-productive at such critical times and this has been borne out in a recent survey conducted by Island Global Research in Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
It would seem opportune to recall previous observations and recommendations we shared with you in April to help fine-tune the Government's approach to communications to the benefit of all concerned. These continue to be extremely relevant:
• Engage openly and actively with Scrutiny Panels and States Members – we can help reach the community as outlined above
• Establish regular times for high profile updates of information to the public
• Ensure all platforms (ie both the traditional' and the more digital) are given due attention. Make access to information as direct and as simple as possible
• Messaging needs to be consistent and unambiguous (for example please see the recent confusion over driving to undertake exercise, and the 3 arguably conflicting text messages to Islanders about what Stay at Home' actually means)
• Write and speak in language accessible to the full range of Islanders – straightforward and non-technical. This should include significant efforts towards tailored approaches for those communities that do not have English as a first language.
• Be open with the community. Information should be withheld only in exceptional circumstances, such as for clearly established legal reasons.
Yours sincerely
Senator Kristina Moore
President, Scrutiny Liaison Committee
States Greffe: Scrutiny Liaison Committee | Morier House | St Helier | Jersey | JE1 1DD Tel: 01534 441080 | email: scrutiny@gov.je | web: www.statesassembly.gov.je