Communications between the Minister for Sustainable Economics' Development with low price supermarkets

​​​​Request 747207022

Has there been any official communication between the Minister for Sustainable Economics' Development, or any other appropriate minister or officer, in the last 2 years, with any low price supermarkets eg Lidl or Aldi, with the intent to test their appetite to open a store(s) in Jersey? If so please share the communications?

Response

The Department for the Economy carries out inward investment activities across various sectors, promoting the island as an attractive location for business. It also provides advice and support to organisations looking to establish or relocate operations here.

Communications with businesses — including emails and other correspondence — are treated as highly confidential and commercially sensitive. As such, Article 33 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to protect this information.

Article applied

Article 33 - Commercial interests

Information is qualified exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes a trade secret; or

(b) its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of a person (including the scheduled public authority holding the information).

Public Interest test

Article 33(b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 permits a scheduled public authority to withhold information where its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial interests of any individual or organisation — including the authority itself.

While it is acknowledged that the public may have an interest in the requested information, releasing it could adversely impact the commercial interests of both suppliers and the Government of Jersey. Following a public interest assessment, it has been determined that the potential harm outweighs the benefits of disclosure. Therefore, this exemption has been applied.​