Air Display and the Minister: A Case of Reduction and Redaction

The Declining Grant

Organiser and former politician Mike Higgins said the grant had been "progressively reduced" in recent years:

In 2014, the Air Display received a £110,000 grant
In 2017, the grant was £90,000
In 2018, the grant was £75,000
In 2019, the grant was £45,000
The event was cancelled in 2020 because of fog.
In 2021, the grant was £65,000
In 2022, the grant was £60,000
In 2023, the grant was £60,000
And in 2024, they received £40,000 from government.

This has now been increased by £20,000 as the Minister has (in my opinion) been shamed by the support from donors.

However, from a request via FOI in August 2024:

"August 2024 Request Please can I have extracts of any minutes or emails relating to the reduction of this year's grant to the air display?" 

"Response: There has been no reduction to the core grant funding offered for the Jersey International Air Display in 2024. £40,000 has been allocated in 2024 and this is consistent with the 2023 sum. Accordingly, there is no information held in this regard, and Article 3 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 applies."

This would seem to be a barefaced lie. Yes, the government increased its grant for 2023 by £20,000 at the last minute, so the "core funding" might be taken as £40,000, but that is incredibly deceptive. I wonder if the Minister is aware of the team working on FOI and their tendency to be "economical with the truth".

Evasion via Freedom of Information

Some more rewriting of history.

A: How many tenders for the rights to run the 2024 Jersey Air Display were received?
B: Which was the successful tender for this year's display?
C: Which Minister was responsible for deciding which tender to accept?
D: How much of a grant will the air display be given this year?

Response

"A and B: The Government of Jersey does not directly tender for, nor procure, air display organisers. Any organiser who can demonstrate to Jersey’s Bailiff’s Chambers and Director of Civil Aviation that they are a competent authority is free to advance plans for an air display in Jersey."

"To do so applicants will need to meet six criteria to be assessed against. They include safety of the event, stakeholder relationships, economic and environmental impact, and to reflect the island’s history as well as its future and how it could attract visitors and renew the interest of islanders."

"These points were reflected in an article published in March 2023 where it was emphasised that government funding should represent value for money for island taxpayers. The link to the relevant article is attached below for reference: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-64902655"

"C: The Minister for Sustainable Economic Development may allocate grant funding from budgets within the Department for the Economy."

"D: The Government of Jersey is in discussions with Jersey International Air Display Limited about 2024 grant funding. The final grant funding figure is yet to be confirmed and will be subject to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and delivery targets for the event."

More Evasion in FOI

Thanks for your response.

The linked article which you supply says:

"Ministers said they will look at support for air events in line with financial and environmental targets. They have invited those who would like to run displays to tender for the rights."

Deputy Kirsten Morel said "imaginative proposals" were welcome. There are now six criteria which any application for government support will be assessed against.

"We are inviting people and organisations who have strong, demonstrable experience as air event organisers to come forward."

There is ABSOLUTELY nothing there which says the Bailiff's Chambers and Civil Aviation would be involved as per your reply:

"The Government of Jersey does not directly tender for, nor procure, air display organisers. Any organiser who can demonstrate to Jersey’s Bailiff’s Chambers and Director of Civil Aviation that they are a competent authority is free to advance plans for an air display in Jersey."

On the contrary Deputy Morel's own words emphasis the government is calling for tenders for GOVERNMENT support - i.e financial support. And also that THEY - i.e. Ministers will be reviewing the expressions of interest.

Given that, I do not think the response answers my first question at all and is completely wrong! Please review.

FOI - More Evasion Still

Further to your correspondence below, the handling department have reverted as follows:

"The Government ran an expressions of interest exercise in 2023 for prospective organisers to seek public funding. This should be clearly distinguished from seeking applications for the rights to run an air display. The Government of Jersey does not hold the rights to air displays and organisers are free to run such displays at any time, without public money, provided they can satisfy the Bailiff’s Chambers and Director of Civil Aviation. We hope this answers your query."

So they are redefining ""Ministers said they will look at support for air events in line with financial and environmental targets. They have invited those who would like to run displays to tender for the rights."

This has been rewritten to mean  "we will run an expression of interests exercise" - contrary to the plain sense of what was says.

Clearly this is NOT what Kirsten Morel originally said. There seems to be a distancing exercise going by the FOI responders on here, to distance himself - and absolute himself - of all responsibility which he had stated as his under the previous Council of Ministers.

A Little Omission

You may notice my reply to the first FOI when I called them out from the text of the "linked article", and their response. Neither my reply nor their response was every published on the FOI area. Fancy that!!