Request
A
Does the Jersey government currently follow policies that require all its published information to be available to everybody on an equal basis regardless of disabilities?
B
If so, under which laws and regulations do these policies arise and who is liable to enforce them?
C
Does the Freedom of Information (FOI) service comply with such standards?
D
What are the most important areas of disability that require different or enhanced standards of publication?
E
To what extent is information published in formats or languages other than English?
F
What is the current annual cost of providing enhanced standards of publications?
G
Which Ministers have the primary responsibility for implementing such policies?
H
Is financial assistance available to members of the general public, of all ages, towards any extra costs that might arise from accessing information in enhanced formats?
Response
A
There is currently no policy in place for this requirement. However, work is being developed in the following areas:
Gov.je
Gov.je has been developed to conform to level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG 2.0). These guidelines are the internationally recognised benchmark for building accessible web sites. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines explain how to make websites more accessible for people with disabilities. Conformity to these guidelines also makes websites more user-friendly for all people.
It is current practice of the Government’s digital delivery team to consider accessibility as part of all online content and services. This will be further formalised as part of an upcoming government digital strategy.
Further information in relation to the accessibility of Gov.je is available on the website through the following link:
Website accessibility
The Disability Strategy
The Disability Strategy for Jersey notes accessibility, including access to information, as one of its key principles. In addition, the first strategy priority is for disabled Islanders to ‘Have support to communicate and access information’.
Two medium term actions (ie work scheduled to commence from 2020 onwards) look to develop policies to ensure that information provided by Government is accessible to disabled Islanders:
Action 1.2a will review government customer service policies to ensure they meet the specific communication needs of disabled Islanders.
Action 1.2c will allow customers to specify their communication preferences to the Government of Jersey (telephone, letter, text, email and so on).
Further information in relation to the Disability Strategy available on the website through the following link:
Disability Strategy for Jersey
B and C
Not applicable, please refer to answer for question A above.
D
The information required to respond to this request is not held by the States of Jersey and therefore cannot be supplied.
Articles 3 and 4 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 which support this response are detailed below.
E
Information is occasionally published in languages other than English by government departments. The decision to publish in other languages is made on a case-by-case basis. Reasons behind each decision are varied, and can include the need to ensure non-English speaking residents or visitors are able to access essential services, for example medical services at the hospital, or to ensure that they understand local rules such as rubbish disposal or parking restrictions.
F
The required information is not held in a reportable format. It is estimated that it would exceed the cost limits set out within the Freedom of Information legislation as a review would need to be made on multiple purchase orders to establish which ones related to enhanced publication. Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied.
G
The Chief Minister has responsibility for the implementation of the Disability Strategy and the forthcoming Digital Strategy.
H
No financial assistance is available towards any extra costs, however, individuals can be supported to access information in enhanced formats where appropriate.
Individuals who require alternative versions to the downloadable documents available on Gov.je or experience any accessibility problems with the site can provide feedback by using tab at the bottom right of any page on gov.je or by emailing digital@gov.je
Articles applied
Article 3 Meaning of “information held by a public authority”
For the purposes of this Law, information is held by a public authority if –
(a) it is held by the authority, otherwise than on behalf of another person; or
(b) it is held by another person on behalf of the authority.
Article 4 Meaning of “information to be supplied by a public authority”
(1) For the purposes of this Law, the information held by a public authority at the time when a request for the information is received is the information that is to be taken to have been requested.
(2) However, account may be taken of any amendment or deletion made to the information between the time when the request for the information was received and the time when it is supplied if the amendment or deletion would have been made regardless of the request for the information.
Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive
(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.
Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 allows an authority to refuse a request for information where the estimated cost of dealing with the request would exceed the specified amount of the cost limit of £500. This is the estimated cost of one person spending 12.5 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.
