After a third attempt to get answers to his questions about complaints made about staff at the prison failed, Deputy Rob Curgenven said it had only deepened his concerns.
He had already picked up questions raised by a constituent under the Freedom of Information powers and sought answers through formal written questions. He asked for numbers of complaints made about the conduct of prison officers and staff from the Probation Service.
‘Home Affairs told the Assembly that the number of alleged prison complaints was incorrect, while at the same time admitting that it has not seen the figures,’ he said.
‘If the committee has not seen the data, on what basis can it confidently assert that the figures are wrong?
‘What makes this even more concerning is that the committee previously refused to provide this information on the grounds that disclosure would breach data protection requirements. It is now saying that the same information can be released at a later date. Islanders are entitled to ask how information can be too sensitive to disclose one day, but suitable for publication the next?’
He said that it did not appear to be an isolated incident and there was a growing perception that legitimate questions were met with delay, exemptions are applied inconsistently, and responses often fail to address the issues that were actually raised.
‘The difficulty for Home Affairs is that its own explanations are becoming increasingly hard to reconcile,’ said Deputy Curgenven.
‘The committee says the figures cannot be disclosed, then says they can be disclosed later. It says the figures are wrong, while admitting it has not seen them.
‘At some point, the public is entitled to stop asking whether the questions are being answered and start asking why they are not.’