Deputy Montfort Tadier has lodged an amendment to a proposition from Chief Minister Ian Gorst, the latter who is asking for an extra £14 million to bring the inquiry’s budget up to £20 million. He is proposing using States reserves if necessary to cover the cost.
In his amendment Deputy Tadier says that asking the States to agree for the inquiry to operate within a revised budget of £13.7 million does put a cap on spending, which he says could ‘restrict’ the inquiry team’s investigations.
Nearly 2,000
Number of properties that have been made more energy efficient since 2009 thanks to a States scheme
£6.67
Average cost per medical prescription in Jersey last year
Less than 8 per cent
Number of government transactions completed online
Eight
Senator Gorst also wants the terms of reference for the inquiry to be amended to cover the period from 9 May 1945 to 3 April 2014 in an effort to control costs.
Currently the inquiry is permitted to consider matters ‘up to the present day’, meaning that the time period is always growing.
But Deputy Tadier says that is similar to capping the budget and would also be ‘undesirable and/or impractical’. He has proposed that the reference is removed from the proposition.
Members are due to debate the proposition and its amendment on 24 March.
Since the inquiry began last summer around £7 million has so far been spent, including £5.2 million on the actual inquiry, including legal fees for the panel and its counsel, and £1.8 million on the legal fees of States departments called to give evidence.
Suggestions that Jersey should seek independence
A SUGGESTION that Jersey may seek independence from the UK should the latter leave the European Union was discussed in the States on Tuesday.
During an ‘in-committee’ debate Members discussed the progress and current policies of the External Relations Department, which was created in 2013.
Unlike a normal States debate, an in-committee one does not have a vote and States Members are allowed to speak as often as they wish.
External Relations Minister Sir Philip Bailhache, who composed a written report for States Members ahead of the sitting, proposed the debate to allow the Assembly to discuss his departmental portfolio.
In his report he said that a UK referendum on breaking from the EU would affect the Island’s policies and that while Jersey was not currently seeking independence from the UK it needed ‘to ensure that Jersey is prepared if it were in the best interests of Islanders to do so’.
However, during yesterday’s debate St Helier Deputy Sam Mézec dismissed the idea, saying that there was no desire from Islanders to prepare for independence.
He said: ‘The idea of Jersey becoming a completely independent country would have very little support.
‘Jersey feels British and I think talking about this as an option is not good for the Island. There is no mandate to pursue it and it should not feature in external relations policy.’
Several Members also questioned whether Jersey should be promoting business links with countries such as Saudi Arabia and China given their poor human rights records. They requested that human rights issues be considered in future policy.
St Clement Deputy Simon Brée said that Jersey should ‘be presenting to the outside world our core values and moral standards’.
He added: ‘One of the things we must do is to promote economic growth – the fear is that is at the neglect of our moral standards.’
However St Brelade Deputy Murray Norton said that positively engaging with jurisdictions such as Saudi Arabia and China was the right approach and could promote business and Island values, while St Helier Deputy Andrew Lewis said that Jersey ‘shouldn’t necessarily close the door but tread carefully’ when dealing with these countries.
Senator Bailhache defended his department in response to the criticism. He said: ‘We hope the conduct of this Assembly can be moral and ethical. Finding the right balance between engaging with other countries with human rights policies we may find repulsive is difficult.
‘By engaging with countries like China there is at least the possibility that discussions between businessmen may gradually change the outlook.’
Island’s financial outlook ‘worse’ than first thought
THE Island’s financial outlook may be worse than expected, the Chief Minister has indicated.
Answering questions yesterday from the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, Senator Ian Gorst said that although the States’ end-of-year financial position had not yet been finalised, he would expect ‘a little bit of worsening’ in comparison to previous forecasts.
According to last year’s Budget estimates, the States will this year need to find an extra £50 million in order to balance the books and cover costs. However, those figures will be revised and updated in preparation for the next Medium-Term Financial Plan, which sets States spending for the next three years and is due to be published later this year.
During Tuesday’s hearing, panel chairman Deputy John Le Fondré asked whether States Members would be given up-to-date forecasts before the debate on the draft Strategic Plan – due to take place on 28 April – and whether revisions would be required to the current Medium-Term Financial Plan. The Strategic Plan sets States policy for the next four years.
The Chief Minister replied that if the situation had ‘worsened slightly’ for 2015, departments would need to look further than the 2% savings agreed and set new priorities.
‘We will need to look at what things we did not do last year and see whether we can manage without doing them in 2015,’ he said. ‘We are looking at where substantial savings and efficiencies can be found. The Fiscal Policy Panel has warned that if we do not do this, we will have a structural deficiency by 2019.
Four States Members were missing at the start of Tuesday’s States sitting.
Senator Philip Ozouf, St Saviour Constable Sadie Rennard and Deputies Mike Higgins and Judy Martin were all ill.
‘We have choices – we can carry on spending, or investing, but if we do these things, how much will we need to save? The difficulty is how to deliver the savings and efficiencies.’
Senator Gorst said that although essential services could not come to a full stop, ways needed to be found to do things differently or outsource services to other organisations. For example, he said, departments issued permits for ‘all sorts of things’ that might not be necessary if the law was changed.
Asked by panel member Constable Chris Taylor about the States’ modernisation programme, the Chief Minister said that the challenge was whether it was happening fast enough.
‘We always knew the first two or three years would be a warming-up, but there is a lot more that needs to be done,’ he said. ‘We are focusing on 2019 and the structural deficit, but we are still spending millions of pounds as a government.’
Senator Gorst said that agreement had been reached with ‘all but one’ of the unions and all the staff pay groups about public-sector pay rises, and that departments were now ‘working more efficiently together’, with behind-the-scenes discussions about bringing together existing departments.
Asked whether there would also be an amalgamation of posts, the Chief Minister said that he was ‘not in a position to talk about these publicly’.
Also on the panel were Deputies Simon Brée and Kevin Lewis.
Social Security Minister defends changes to the benefits system
CHANGES to the benefits system that mean more Islanders with long-term health conditions are now required to look for work have once again been defended by the Social Security Minister.
Last month Deputy Susie Pinel signed-off on a move to amend the terms for those receiving long-term incapacity allowance.
Now anyone with 35 per cent or below loss of capacity is required to look for work to be eligible to keep receiving the benefit.
Previously that figure had been 30 per cent.
Following a question from Deputy Geoff Southern – a vocal opponent to the change – the minister defended the move and said advisors within her department were able to assess each person on an individual basis.
But Deputy Pinel did stress that those who persistently refuse to engage with the support on offer would see cuts to their benefits.
‘At all stages our advisors consider if a person is realistically capable of the job-seeking activities set out for them and have the discretion to reduce or change work or training requirements so that they are appropriate to the individual’s circumstances,’ she said.
Roads revamp in First Tower and St Saviour?
ROADS around First Tower and the schools in St Saviour could be due for a maintenance overhaul, following concerns from States Members.
Transport Minister Eddie Noel also pledged during questions without notice yesterday to review filter-in-turns around town.
It also emerged during yesterday’s sitting that the minister is due to take part in a ‘walkabout’ with Environment Minister Steve Luce and St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft to review problem spots on roads around town.
Deputy Andrew Lewis asked if the walkabout could include taking a look at the First Tower area, which he said had been ‘often overlooked’.
‘I am happy to visit any area of the Island that needs attention,’ said Deputy Noel. ‘It is a difficult stretch of road and that will be taken into account.’
St Mary Constable Juliette Gallichan said that she found some of the town filter-in-turns ‘confusing’, especially where there were a number of similar junctions close to each other. ‘It must be particularly confusing for tourists,’ she said.
During a packed 15 minutes of questions, the minister was also asked what progress was being made to improve safety around schools in St Saviour, at the Five Oaks roundabout and on St Martin’s main road.
Deputy Noel said that he was aware of ‘many issues’ in these areas and that he had already offered to meet the parish Constables, ministers and Deputies. However, resources within his department were ‘constrained’, as elsewhere in the States, he said, and there was a need to prioritise.
Deputy Sam Mézec asked whether residents around the Millennium Town Park had been consulted about the decision to install a permanent skatepark. He suggested that the skateboarders were a ‘nuisance’ to the local residents.
But Deputy Noel said that although TTS and the Constable had been involved, the initiative had been more ‘community-led’ by the Jersey Youth Service. He said skateboarders would be encouraged to use the new facilities and that a new type of barrier would be trialled outside the former Odeon cinema to deter people from using the area to skate.
The minister also confirmed that work is due to start this year on a new cycle path in St Peter, from Tesson to the Vic in the Valley.
New arrivals cannot walk straight into a job
THE number of people getting work ‘straight off the boat’ is being controlled by business licences, the Assistant Chief Minister responsible for population insists.
Senator Paul Routier told the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel yesterday that the number of licences for unregistered workers, previously known as unqualified, had been tightened up and that anyone arriving in the Island to look for work would first need to find an employer with the required licence.
Panel member Constable Chris Taylor asked what controls were in place for workers ‘getting in under the radar’, especially at a time of high unemployment. ‘I have witnessed this myself – people coming off the boat gain their Social Security card and they’re off to work,’ he said.
Mr Taylor suggested that this was preventing local people who needed a job from getting work.
But Senator Routier said that the only way that newcomers could find jobs was through an employer with an ‘unregistered’ licence.
‘Generally there has been a tightening up of places where people can work,’ he said. ‘People are not going to stay if they do not get a job. The control is the licensing of the businesses.’
Chief Minister Ian Gorst, who was also giving evidence to the panel, said that the Population Office had been going through employers’ licences to take out any spare capacity. ‘There has been quite a lot of anxiety in the business community, but we know that some employers need unregistered licences,’ he said.
Senator Gorst also reinforced comments made at a recent finance industry forum assuring the sector that licences would be issued to firms which were seeking specialised skills. ‘We are trying to increase jobs and profitability,’ he added.
Prices can’t be printed on prescriptions
PRINTING the value of drugs on all prescriptions to reduce waste and over-prescribing is not possible as GPs and pharmacists are not linked up to the necessary IT system, the Social Security Minister has said.
Speaking during States question time on Tuesday Deputy Susie Pinel said that although it was an ‘interesting idea’ to print the price on medication to encourage Islanders only to collect prescriptions if they were needed, she said that it came with ‘risks’.
Responding to a question from Deputy Montfort Tadier she said: ‘There is a danger that vulnerable people would be influenced by the costs and worry about being a burden on the taxpayer.’
Deputy Pinel also told States Members that to print the price would involve accessing information from the UK which was not possible due to ‘IT issues’.
She said: ‘The IT system is not linked to the UK. Even the pharmacists are not linked up. We would have to be linked up to make the whole system coherent.’
The average cost of a prescription in Jersey is £6.67 – lower than the average English cost of £8.37.
However Deputy Pinel said that Social Security was currently considering ways to reduce the cost of medication, which costs the Department around £18 million annually. The possibilities include looking at reintroducing prescription charges.
She added that GPs undergo a yearly review of how they are prescribing, which includes an analysis of their average costs.
And she said that following a campaign last year where Islanders took any unused medication to pharmacies another campaign was planned in the next couple of months.
ON the odd occasion when I find myself ‘en défaut’ for the early part of Question Time, I am conscious that I may miss a vital speech or some crucial phrase that could make headlines.
Regretfully this did not seem to be an issue this week. It was more an occasion for déja vu, or even Groundhog Day – the bi-weekly tussle between Reform Jersey and Social Security Minister Susie Pinel over whether people on Long-Term Incapacity Allowance should be made to look for work, and a difference of opinion between Deputy Geoff Southern and Transport Minister Eddie Noel over the number of people catching buses and how they pay for their fares (ongoing from a fortnight ago).
Twixt and between, though, was a meatier contretemps between the Chief Minister and various Members concerning the rather odd goings-on in the bowels of e-government.
I make no pretence of understanding why the £1.47m of public money that has already been spent on the project since 2013 (including £328,000 on consultancy fees) appears not to have resulted in satisfactory delivery thus far.
However, I do regard myself as a reasonably astute reader of body language and, if my reading is correct, our Chief Minister’s reluctance to make eye contact with the Members of the Assembly was a strong indication that he was grasping at a couple of rather flimsy straws.
The trouble started when he was asked to provide a timeframe for the project. Aside from the now-familiar ‘I do not have it with me’ get-out clause, he did seem to indicate that a timetable would be produced ‘so that we can be held to account’.
But then a question from Deputy Tracey Vallois provoked what can only be described as deviation. Who had been the accounting officer, she asked, and who would it be in future?
It took two tries before the Chief Minister could be persuaded to part with the information that the accounting officer in question was in fact the States chief executive, John Richardson.
It was probably a good thing that Deputy Sam Mézec’s seat was at the opposite side of the Chamber when he again asked for a ‘timetable’ for the project. ‘Since we do not know when, can the minister give us a timetable for when the timetable will be produced?’ he quizzed.
