Engagement of Portland Communications (FOI)

​Request

In regards to the States of Jersey obtaining the services of Portland Communications could you please provide the following information for the Public Relations firm:

A

How many other firms were engaged as part of the 2011 tendering process?

B

Why was Portland Communications chosen eg cheapest, most professional and so on?

C

When was media training / advice (on any matter) first requested by and provided to States members including the Chief Minister?

D

How many times were the London offices of Portland Communications visited and on what dates?

E

Total amount spent by States of Jersey on services provided by Portland Communications (not just for the Care Inquiry).

F

List of matters they have provided advice on.

Response

A

A pre-qualification questionnaire was issued on the www.channelislandtenders.com portal during 2011. This open competitive tendering process resulted in five different firms being invited to submit full tenders to the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. No other firm was selected by the States of Jersey.

B

The invitation to tender specified five main criteria for the assessment of tenders, as follows:

• legal and commercial terms – compliant with proposed contract

• financial – price competitiveness and fee structure

• personnel – suitability, expertise and experience of identified key staff

• technical – demonstration of understanding, strategic approach, method of working proposed

• overall quality of response (added value)

C

Strategic advice and support from Portland Communications was commissioned and provided as detailed in the following written answer to a question in the States Assembly.

Written question to the Chief Minister by Deputy Labey 1240/5/1(224)

D

The relevant Ministers variously visited the London offices of Portland Communications on four different dates in preparation for the final report of the Care Inquiry. These dates were 19 and 20 January 2017 and 3 and 24 March 2017.

E

Care Inquiry related expenditure for services provided by Portland Communications is detailed in the written answer to a question asked in the States Assembly which is available on the following link:

Written question to the Chief Minister by Deputy Labey 1240/5/1(224)

In addition to this amount £97,605 was spent in 2013 by the External Relations Department.

F

This is detailed in the written answer to a question asked in the States Assembly which is available on the following link:

Written question to the Chief Minister by Deputy Labey 1240/5/1(224)