Hardship housing consents granted in the last ten years (FOI)

​Request

Under the Control of Housing and Work (R and E Status) (J) Regulations 2013 and formerly the Regulations of the Housing (J) Law there was/is an authority to grant so called “hardship” housing consents for persons who do not otherwise satisfy the prescribed requirements to be considered ”qualified for housing” purposes or now as “Entitled”.

Generally this was referred to as a “hardship housing consent” under Category G of the Housing Regulations administered by the Housing Department and now falls under 2(1)(f) and 2(2) of the Housing and Work Regulations administered by the Population Office of the Chief Minister.

My request in two parts is ;
To know how many such “hardship consents” have been granted during the past ten years and to receive redacted details of the consents granted, giving sufficient detail to know the basis on
which each decision has been made.

Response

There have been a total of 244 persons who have been granted `Entitled’ status on the grounds of hardship during the past ten years (Regulation 1(1) (g) of the former Housing Regulations and Regulation 2(1) (f) of the Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 2013). The below table breaks this down by year.

It is not possible to provide redacted details of the individual consents granted as they contain personal data which could result in individuals being identified. However, those persons granted Entitled status on the grounds of hardship generally fall under the below categories. 

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The below table shows the numbers of applications approved, broken down by year and the category under which each decision was made.

Regulation 2(1) (f) of the Control of Housing and Work (Residential and Employment Status) (Jersey) Regulations 2013 states that the person has been granted Entitled status by the Minister on the grounds that the Minister is satisfied that the hardship (other than solely financial hardship) which would be caused to the person or to any individual ordinarily resident in Jersey if the person were not granted Entitled status outweighs the fact that the person does not meet any other condition.

An application will include evidence to confirm periods of continuous residence in the Island, and any other relevant supporting information, including but not limited to birth and marriage certificates, separation agreements, medical or other related professional submissions. The Minister’s decision is a judgment based on the information provided.

No two cases are identical and each request will be considered on its own individual merits. However, the Minister has a legal, as well as a moral obligation to administer the Regulations in a fair, consistent and reasonable manner, referring to previous decisions for comparison, considering prevailing policy at the time of the request and any future precedent that will be set. The balance which is required to be made is therefore between the hardship caused by refusal on one hand, and the fact that the granting of `Entitled’ status will lessen the accommodation available for those persons who already qualify under the Regulations.

Exemption(s)

FOI exemption(s) applied:

Article 25 Personal Information

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if
(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2005; and
(b) Its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.

Justification for exemption

The documents for individual consents granted contain personal data which could result in individuals being identified even after the redaction of names.