Lido swimming pool

​​Request 770106881 

Provide the following information:

1

The total rental income the Government has received from the current operators of the Lido.

2

The estimated annual cost required to bring the Lido swimming pool up to a suitable standard for public use.

3

The annual cost of ongoing maintenance for the Lido swimming pool.

4

Of the rental income received from the current operator, how much has the Government allocated or spent on maintaining the swimming pool.

5

The current rent paid by the operator, and when this rent was last increased, including the amount of the increase. 

Response 

1

The requested information is exempt under Article 33(b) Commercial Interests of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as rental fees are considered commercially sensitive. 

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, a public interest test has been applied and is shown at the end of this response. 

2

The estimated annual cost required to bring the Lido swimming pool up to a suitable standard for public use is not held by the Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) as the swimming pool is currently deemed to be at a suitable standard for public use, therefore, Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

3

The average annual cost for maintenance fluctuates, however, details of the costs are publicly available within the links below. Therefore, Article 23 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies. 

Havre des Pas costs and maintenance discussed in States Assembly - BBC News 

Transparency calls over Jersey lido costs - BBC News 

Over 100 islanders attend heated public meeting on Lido tender process - Bailiwick Express News Jersey 

4 
The total rental received from the current operator was used towards maintenance costs, however it did not cover all of the maintenance costs.  

5

The requested information is exempt under Article 33(b) Commercial Interests of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 as rental fees are considered commercially sensitive. 

Article 33 is a qualified exemption; therefore, a public interest test has been applied and is shown at the end of this response. 

Articles applied 

Article 23 - Information accessible to applicant by other means 

(1)       Information is absolutely exempt information if it is reasonably available to the applicant, otherwise than under this Law, whether or not free of charge.

(2)       A scheduled public authority that refuses an application for information on this ground must make reasonable efforts to inform the applicant where the applicant may obtain the information. 

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 

In applying this article, the following considerations were considered.   

Public interest considerations favouring disclosure    

• Disclosure of the information would ensure the general public to be made aware of the annual rental received by the SPA (the Government of Jersey) in relation to the referenced site.  
  
  
• Disclosure of the information would support transparency and promote accountability to the general public and would also promote trust in the Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) by showing openness. 

Public interest considerations favouring withholding the information     

• The disclosure of the annual rental fees could potentially disadvantage the tenants and the SPA's ability to retain commercial advantage in any future rental notifications. 

• This could also result in the SPA's inability to secure best value for the taxpayer and this will likely prejudice the SPA as its bargaining power decreases.
  
  
• The disclosure of the annual rental fees could jeopardise the business relationship between the SPA and the tenant. 

Considering all the considerations the above, while transparency and accountability is important the public interest in disclosure must be weighed against potential harm caused by prejudice of the commercial interests. 

On balance, the SPA has concluded that the risk of causing harm by prejudice of the commercial interests the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the benefits disclosing the information.​​