Request
How many swab tests were carried out during July and August, and what was the total cost of those tests?
Reply
Between 1 July and 31 July, 22,004 tests were carried out. Most tests are processed by a company in England. This is completed under a contract, and therefore is commercially sensitive and costs are exempt from disclosure under Article 33 (b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.
My comment
I am at a loss to understand how you could not answer the request for costs when today the BBC published details of the costs made public. Perhaps you could explain this rather strange discrepancy, and why something can be commercial sensitive at one moment in time, and available about a week later? Does “commercially sensitive” in this context just mean “not available until the Government decides to make it public”.
Reply
Between 1 July and 31 July, 22,004 tests were carried out. Most tests are processed by a company in England. This is completed under a contract, and therefore is commercially sensitive and costs are exempt from disclosure under Article 33 (b) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011.
My comment
I am at a loss to understand how you could not answer the request for costs when today the BBC published details of the costs made public. Perhaps you could explain this rather strange discrepancy, and why something can be commercial sensitive at one moment in time, and available about a week later? Does “commercially sensitive” in this context just mean “not available until the Government decides to make it public”.
BBC: Jersey's chief minister has revealed the island's government spent almost £5m on its Covid-19 testing regime in July and August. The sum of £4.8m paid for both on-island testing and swabs at the harbour and airport. It also went towards staff wages, as well as the cost of transporting swabs and having them processed.
Their reply:
Please accept our apologies for this oversight. The responding team have noted that they had misinterpreted the question, and answered about test processing costs, rather than the total cost of the testing service.
Their reply:
Please accept our apologies for this oversight. The responding team have noted that they had misinterpreted the question, and answered about test processing costs, rather than the total cost of the testing service.
The total direct cost of testing for July and August is c£4.8m. Between 1 July and 31 August 2020, 57,102 on-arrival tests had been undertaken, along with 10,851 tests for Islanders seeking healthcare and/or essential workers.
We note that the disclosure log will be updated accordingly.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment