Tendering process for the ferry contract to the island

​​​​​Request ​730719344

I would like to see all documentation regarding the tendering process for the ferry contract to the island/s.

Clarification requested

Could you please clarify the specific documentation you are requesting? For example, is it the Ferry tender document itself?

Clarification received

Yes I would like to see the tender documents that each prospective provider received.

I would also like to request the tenders submitted by either party and any correspondence relating to the tender, prior to DFDS being awarded the contract.

Response

The Government of Jersey issued tender document was published in a previous Freedom of Information response. A link to that response and the document is added below for reference.

https://www.gov.je/government/freedomofinformation/pages/foi.aspx?ReportID=8201​

The information requested was supplied to the Department of The Economy in confidence. Therefore Article 26 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied. 

The requested information is also exempt under Article 33 of the Freedom of Information Jersey Law 2011 (Commercial Interests and Article 34 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 The Economy.

Articles applied

Article 26 - Information supplied in confidence

Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it was obtained by the scheduled public authority from another person (including another public authority); and

(b) the disclosure of the information to the public by the scheduled public authority holding it would constitute a breach of confidence actionable by that or any other person.

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).

Article 34 - The economy

Information is qualified exempt information if its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice –

(a) the economic interests of Jersey; or

(b) the financial interests of the States of Jersey.

Public Interest Test 

Article 33 and Article 34 are prejudice-based exemptions. That means that to engage this exemption there must be a likelihood that disclosure would cause prejudice to the interest that the exemption protects. In addition, this is a qualified exemption, and consideration must be given to the public interest in maintaining the exemption.

The Scheduled Public Authority (SPA) considers that providing information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Government of Jersey and / or third parties. There may be public interest in the commercial information, however it was considered that this is outweighed by the potential for commercial and or financial damage.​