Oversight of Ecological Consultancy Companies in Jersey Planning Processes

​Request 843162503

Please confirm whether ecological consultancy companies operating in Jersey are required by Infrastructure & Environment (I&E) to be registered, accredited, licensed, or audited, and provide information held on any regulatory framework, statutory oversight, licensing, registration, or monitoring that governs such companies, particularly where their reports are relied upon in the I&E planning process. 

Provide confirmation of whether I&E requires, recommends, or recognises organisational level accreditation such as the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) when ecology reports are relied upon in the I&E planning process. Specifically, please confirm: 

a) Whether ecological consultancy companies operating in Jersey and providing reports to the Planning Department are required to be CIEEM Registered Practices (or an equivalent international body); and 

b) Whether I&E distinguishes between companies that are CIEEM Registered Practices and companies where only individual staff members hold CIEEM membership. 

Provide any guidance or criteria used by I&E when assessing ecological reports from any non-CIEEM Registered Practices, including what alternative assurance is relied upon and how I&E evaluates credible counter-evidence or expert opinion or academic research that challenges a report’s conclusions or recommended survey effort. 

Provide information held on any audits, or quality assurance processes carried out by I&E (or on its behalf) since the introduction of the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021 on ecological consultancy companies, to help ensure that reports submitted with planning applications are evidence based, proportionate, compliant with recognised professional standards, and free from any conflicts of interest. 

Provide any records of complaints, concerns, internal reviews, or escalations relating to the quality, proportionality, methodology, or independence of ecological consultancy work in Jersey relating to planning applications since the introduction of the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021.

Response

No, ecological consultancy companies operating in Jersey are not required. The only situation where a professional accreditation arises is in respect of the production of an Environmental Impact assessment, this is set out in the Planning and Building Environmental impact (Jersey) order 2006 

Companies undertaking surveys are required to acquire a licence under the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021 to carry out activities that would otherwise be illegal under the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021.

Further information can be found using the link below:

Protected species licences

a)There is no requirement for the organisational level accreditation as sked. However,the Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) follows the biodiversity guidance, which can be found using the link below:

Biodiversity guidance for planning applications and developments​

b)No, the SPA does not distinguish between companies that are CIEEM RegisteredPractices and companies where only individual staff members hold CIEEMmembership

The SPA seeks to apply the current best practice guidance as available in the UK. These are detailed in a range of documents. The SPA seek to apply these criteria in a proportionate manner, supported by officer experience of local ecosystems and ecological behaviours.

Where challenge is made, the SPA seeks to apply the current best practice guidance as available in the UK. These are detailed in a range of documents. The SPA seek to apply these criteria in a proportionate manner, supported by officer experience of local ecosystems and ecological behaviours.

Under the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (“the Law”), a Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) may refuse to supply information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed the amount prescribed by the relevant Regulations.

To provide records of complaints, concerns, internal reviews, or escalations relating to the quality, proportionality, methodology, or independence of ecological consultancy work in Jersey relating to planning applications since the introduction of the Wildlife (Jersey) Law 2021, it is considered that the time taken to:

(a) determine whether the scheduled public authority holds the information;

(b) locate the information, or a document which may contain the information;

(c) retrieve the information, or a document which may contain the information; and

(d) extract the information requested,

would exceed the amount / time limit provided for such matters under the Regulations. Accordingly, Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011, Article 16 has been applied.

Article applied

16 A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.[2]

(2) Despite paragraph (1), a scheduled public authority may still supply the information requested on payment to it of a fee determined by the authority in the manner prescribed by Regulations for the purposes of this Article.

(3) Regulations may provide that, in such circumstances as the Regulations prescribe, if two or more requests for information are made to a scheduled public authority –

(a) by one person; or

(b) by different persons who appear to the scheduled public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign,

the estimated cost of complying with any of the requests is to be taken to be the estimated total cost of complying with all of them.​