Free Period Products pilot scheme documentation (FOI)

​​​Request

A

Please provide a copy of all project documentation relating to the Government's Free Period Products Community Scheme Pilot, as referred to in the Social Security Minister's 2023 plan.

B

Please share specific documents with reference to the above scheme that outline the scope, deliverables, costs and benefits of the project. Please provide the strategic outline case, project brief, project initiation document and outline business case. 

C

If none of the above documents exist, please state why. 

D

Has the Social Security Minister approved or signed off any of the above listed project documents?

E

Please provide a copy of the board Minutes which show that the original plan for the project was not to use 'open access' dispensers in toilets for the products, along with a list of attendees to that meeting and when the decision was made to change this idea and use 'open access' dispensers. 'Open access' in this instance means a dispenser which does not have a closed lid. 

F

If the scope of the dispensers was changed, as above, please advise if the Social Security Minister was made aware of the changes from closed to open dispensers and do you have documents confirming this change? This is in relation to a BBC Jersey article dated 26 September 2023 where the Minister says 'the dispensers we have at the moment are not satisfactory.' 

G

In the 2023 delivery plan for the project, the project end date was noted as 30 August 2023. Has this project now closed? If so, please share a copy of the closure report and if not, please confirm when the project is due to end?

H

Please state how much money has been spent on the project, including marketing materials and products, since the project was launched.

Response

A

Please see attached documents.

2022-08-04 Ministerial Briefing FPP.pdf

2023-01-23 Free Period Products Brief.pdf

2023-01-10 change initiative Free Period Products.pdf

Apart from the names of the senior management responsible for this project, the names of all other persons involved with working on this project have been redacted from the attached documents under Article 25 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011. 

B

Please see response to question A.

C

No original business case was done for this initiative as it came in as part of the Chief Minister’s 100 Day Plan and there was not time to do a business case to fit in with the Government Plan approval process.  This is also the case for the strategic outline case. 

A project initiation document is being drafted in line with the move to a permanent scheme, decisions for the permanent scheme are tabled for 26 January 2024. The project initiation document will reflect the permanent scheme decisions made by the free period products board. 

D

No, it is normal practice for the free period product project board to sign off project documents.  The board is acting on behalf of the Minister, rather than the Minister sign off documents herself.   The Minister has been regularly briefed on project progress and key decision points. 

E

There was no specific decision made from the board on the open and closed dispensers. The board signed off on the use of dispensers attached to walls in 40 public toilets across the island, but not the specific design.  

F

Due to some minor vandalism issues in specific public toilets, a request has been made to our current suppliers to trial a dispenser with a closed lid and drawer mechanism.   Once this different dispenser has been received and trialled, a decision will be made on changing some or all dispensers.  

G

The free period products community scheme was designed to have a pilot to help understand usage volumes and preferred locations for uptake.  The initial pilot timeline was intended to run until August 2023, however the decision was made to extend the pilot until April 2024 to further understand better insight regarding take-up volumes and products, but also to pilot the expansion into new venues.  Closure documentation will be completed once the full implementation of the permanent scheme is delivered.  

H

Please see the costs in the table below:

​Article applied

Article 25 - Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(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 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.