The £50 million Liberation has suffered weeks of problems, which began when it struck a harbour fender while trying to berth in Guernsey on its second commercial crossing. It has since gone on to suffer several technical issues.
And hundreds of passengers due to sail to the Channel Islands from Poole on Liberation Day were left disappointed after the 4.30 am service was cancelled because of ‘technical reasons’, as the Liberation could not berth in predicted high winds because of a faulty bow thruster – a device used to help push the vessel into position.
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham had on Monday told a Scrutiny meeting that the series of delays were ‘disappointing’ and added: ‘You could not have made it up.’
At a States sitting yesterday, St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft asked the minister whether he was confident that the tourism links between the Island and the UK could be be assured in view of the technical problems.
Senator Farnham said he was ‘confident’ that the problems would be resolved, but told the States Assembly it had been ‘a very disappointing start’ for the ferry firm following the launch of Condor Liberation. He said: ‘Nobody could know the problems they would encounter. They are working very hard to resolve the problems. I am in regular talks with Condor.’
Senator Farnham said the current electrical problem with the bow thruster meant there was a restriction with berthing, and that he had been told it would be fixed by 18 May.
In a separate question, Deputy Mike Higgins asked the minister whether the ship would eventually be able to sail in rougher conditions.
The Deputy said: ‘We were told it was supposed to be travelling in all sorts of seas and we have since been told it can travel in moderate seas. When will it return to all sorts of sea conditions?’
Senator Farnham said: ‘Currently they can operate in a restriction of 3.5-metre wave heights because it is larger than most. Further trials will have to be undertaken in different weather to see if it can operate in different wave heights.
‘It is important that safety is taken first.’
He added that he expected the trials to be completed by the end of September.
LES Quennevais School could be replaced by affordable homes once a new secondary has been built, according to the Housing Minister.
Deputy Anne Pryke yesterday told the States that she would welcome the redevelopment of the site in the coming years in order to provide more social rented and affordable accommodation.
She reminded the Chamber that the Island faced a housing shortage, with hundreds awaiting accommodation on the Island’s housing gateway waiting list.
1,700
The number of unqualified licences granted to the hospitality sector last year
3.5
The maximum wave height in metres permitted for the Condor Liberation
7
During questions without notice, Deputy Jackie Hilton said that the Island had 210 families in band one of the housing waiting list – a group that includes Islanders deemed to need accommodation more urgently than anyone else – and asked whether the minister would approve of developing the Les Quennevais site. The States are currently trying to find a new site for the school.
Deputy Pryke said: ‘The Deputy is quite right at the moment there are 210 households in band one, which includes people with medical issues and those staying with family or friends.
‘When the school is resited I would like to think that the area could be used for social rented homes or affordable homes to purchase.
‘Those discussions we still need to have and will need to have in the years to come.’
During her period of questioning by the House, Deputy Pryke was also asked about the States’ decision to increase social rented accommodation rent rates to 90 per cent of Jersey’s market value.
Reform Jersey members Deputies Montfort Tadier and Geoff Southern questioned the fairness of the policy and Deputy Judy Martin asked Deputy Pryke to confirm at what point the new rental rates took effect.
Deputy Pryke said that when tenants moved – or were moved temporarily so that their homes could be refurbished – the higher rental rates began to be charged.
Lastly Deputy Jackie Hilton asked how many new units of housing the States was going to deliver before the end of its current term.
‘The other 30 per cent I would like to think would be covered by support from parishes or private developers.’
THE States have rejected a proposal to review bus fares and renegotiate the contract with Liberty Bus.
Deputy Geoff Southern lodged a proposition calling for the pricing structure to be examined and for the Transport Minister to renegotiate the terms of agreement with the operator.
The proposition was yesterday rejected by 31 votes to seven.
The call came after the introduction of a new policy under which the price of a ticket paid for with cash increased whereas fares paid for with the pre-paid AvanchiCard fell.
Deputy Southern said: ‘It appears to me that what has gone on with bus fares goes way beyond inflation rates and is totally unreasonable.
‘If we want to have a sustainable transport policy and encourage people out of their cars then the last thing we should do is bump up bus cash fares by 17 per cent.’
Transport Minister Eddie Noel said that while he had the power to veto bus fare rises, he did not have the authority to dictate prices to Liberty Bus.
He said: ‘Since the start of this contract, bus usage has grown by 18.2 per cent. The figures speak for themselves – this has been a very successful contract.
‘What Liberty Bus have proposed to me makes sense. It is not my policy, therefore I can’t review it.’
ALL businesses applying for ‘unqualified’ job licences are being treated fairly, the minister responsible for population has claimed.
Assistant Chief Minister Paul Routier was asked by Public Accounts Committee chairman Deputy Andrew Lewis what steps were being taken to assess the impact of the Control of Housing and Work Law since 2012.
Deputy Lewis said that he had been told of one application that had allegedly taken over three months, with the applicant claiming he was told he was ‘at the back of the queue’ because there were too many applications from finance companies.
And St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft said that he knew of a restaurant that had only one licence, whereas another restaurant had a ‘clutch’ of licences.
Senator Routier said that the hospitality industry had been granted 1,700 licences in total, compared to 1,100 in financial services and 749 in retail.
‘We are listening to businesses,’ he said.
‘Providing it’s well designed with community space, they should be looking to build as many units of accommodation as possible’
Housing Minister Anne Pryke responds to Deputy Russell Labey’s description of plans for La Collette low-rise as a ‘grotesque over-development’ of the site
‘There has been a very encouraging start to the year, with visitor numbers up both from air and sea. We are ahead of last year’
Economic Development Minister Lyndon Farnham on the results of the first quarter of tourism figures for the Island
‘There is nothing stealthy about it – we have been open and transparent’
I DO realise that asking sensible questions is not always easy. I also understand that quite often the initial question is designed to open the floor for further questions designed to knock the relevant minister off piste.
But I found myself getting increasingly frustrated this week with attempts by some backbenchers to ensnare ministers in the bog of a moral high ground.
Take question one, tabled by the usually wily Deputy Sam Mézec. The subject was spot on: the new £35 million health ‘charge’. But asking the Chief Minister to confirm that he will not be using this new charge to clobber the poorest of our citizens is not going to get at the information we really need, ie what is this charge about and who will be paying it.
Naturally enough Senator Ian Gorst rebutted every attempt to pin him down and gave absolutely nothing away, apart from repeating, in an increasingly peevish way, that there was ‘nothing stealthy’ about this charge.
Half an hour or so later, Members suffered two questions on the theme of a living/minimum wage, both tabled by Deputy Montfort Tadier, and both targeting Social Security Minister Susie Pinel. Apparently there is a report on this subject, not yet in the public domain, and the minister was not in a position to discuss it.
It is an important subject and it is a shame that the questioning was not more productive. Instead, the Deputy Bailiff, Tim Le Cocq, who was presiding, was kept fully occupied trying to make sure that all the speakers asked the minister proper questions, rather than getting on their hobby horses. So low did standards descend that for his ‘final, final’ supplementary question, Deputy Tadier was reduced to asking the minister whether she envisaged different minimum wage rates for different sectors, ie £2 an hour for the immigrant workers in agriculture, but £12 an hour for finance workers. To which, naturally enough, the minister replied: ‘Not at all.’
Some of the most effective questioning of the morning came during questions ‘without notice’, with Members queuing to pose their queries on Economic Development and Housing, although Deputy Russell Labey’s question on competition versus fat dividends didn’t quite hit the spot and he had to explain that what he was really talking about was JT.
Several Members also seemed to have difficulty explaining to Housing Minister Anne Pryke that all they wanted to know was when tenants had been told their rent would go up. When, exactly? asked Deputy Labey. ‘We are in discussion … customer service is very important,’ replied the minister. So Deputy Judy Martin had to ask the same question again. Twice.
