Answering a question from St Helier Deputy Russell Labey, Treasury Minister Alan Maclean confirmed that the Home Affairs Department was reviewing the situation, not only on behalf of Andium – which manages social housing on behalf of the States – but also other housing associations and housing trusts. He said that Andium currently managed 4,600 homes over 200 sites with a total of 10,000 parking spaces. ‘People are infringing the rights of tenants, and that does need to be addressed.’
Deputy Labey had asked whether private company Andium – previously the Housing Department – had the same powers to tow away vehicles parked in spaces reserved for tenants. The Deputy said that he had received complaints from constituents who regularly came home from shift work to find their spaces occupied by unauthorised vehicles. ‘I don’t think it is being monitored enough,’ he said.
Senator Maclean replied initially that in many cases the car parks required swipe cards and that Andium had a contract with a security firm who patrolled the areas, issued warning notes and ‘pursued’ the vehicle owners.
Deputy Geoff Southern asked whether it was still the practice for Andium to lease spaces to members of the public, thereby reducing supply, and asked the minister to confirm to Members the number of spaces rented out, as well as those allocated to Andium staff.
- 4,600 homes managed by Andium
- 17 parking notices issued weekly on Andium sites
- 25% share of JT that may be sold to Airtel
- 400 increase in finance jobs last year[/breakout]
Deputy Montfort Tadier said there was no legal basis for any company monitoring private car parks to pursue warning notices. ‘On that basis, until the law is changed, Andium is wasting its money on this contract, which is bogus,’ he suggested.
Senator Maclean confirmed that the Deputy was correct. ‘There are no statutory powers, but it is important that there is a presence on site, to act as a deterrent,’ he said, adding that it was ‘not ideal’ and that what was required was a change in the law.
Asked whether the same limitations would apply to land owned by the newly-incorporated Ports of Jersey, the minister said that this was a separate issue that would be addressed when regulations were brought to the Assembly in due course.
THE chairman of the Jersey Development Company is due to retire at the end of the month, the Treasury Minister has announced.
Mark Boleat, who has led the States developer’s board since the company was formed in 2011, was thanked in a public statement made by Senator Alan Maclean during yesterday’s sitting.
It comes after the JDC announced it had secured its first tenant – Swiss investment firm UBS – for the Jersey International Finance Centre.
Mr Boleat has accepted a position with global firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and is due to become a member of the business’ UK advisory board – a role he could not accept while serving as the chairman of a company that PWC audits.
The JDC’s finance centre project has come under increasing criticism in recent weeks. Last week States Members voted against delaying the scheme until the outcome of a Scrutiny Panel investigation was known.
Senator Maclean told the States: ‘Mr Mark Boleat has provided notice of his intention to retire, but agreed to be flexible on his retirement date to fit in with the company business.
‘He made it clear he would not wish to retire until a pre-let had been secured on the JIFC, something that has now been achieved.’
Senator Maclean later added: ‘I would like to publicly thank Mr Boleat for guiding the business of the JDC company since its inception in July 2011, initially stepping in at the last minute to fill the chairman’s position on a temporary basis.
‘His vast business experience has been instrumental in advancing the various projects the JDC is responsible for. He leaves the company in a sound position and with a positive future.’
Senator Maclean said he hoped to recommend a replacement for the States approval in September.
By Christine Herbert
THERE were two main topics on the table during yesterday’s question time.
The first was the States of Jersey Development Company and its determination a) to start building the International Finance Centre and b) not to reveal any ‘commercially sensitive’ information (including the basis of the tenancy agreement with UBS). No, Sir. Not to the Treasury Minister, not to the Chief Minister, and certainly not to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel, whose chairman, Deputy John Le Fondré, tried once again to get someone, somewhere, to take action.
The second topic came from a rather bizarre group of three questions tabled by members of Reform Jersey, based on two documents recently issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Suffice it to say that the lobby group in the back row wanted the Chief Minister to explain why some recent policies appeared to be taking benefits away from the ‘have-nots’, instead of raising taxes from the ‘haves’.
There was some engaging repartee from both sides, but it was not until Deputy Geoff Southern’s interruption of a question on Guernsey’s blacklisting by the European Union that things started to get really interesting. Was the Chief Minister aware, said Deputy Southern, that there had been a ‘major’ announcement about the purchase of JT?
‘Many members were at the meeting of JT last night, at which the minister made no mention of the potential sale of the company,’ said Deputy Southern, adding rather peevishly that perhaps the previous evening would have been a more appropriate time to make statements of such importance, rather than dropping bombshells so early in the morning.
Had he been listening carefully to a previous question, the Deputy may have picked up a few hints of what was to follow. Deputy Russell Labey – who appears to be on his feet rather more often these days – had questioned why the Channel Islands Competition Authority had not succeeded in making JT a little more co-operative in opening up to competition, for example on fixed line rental. Was it because the States was keen to increase its dividends, or just protect JT’s monopoly?
Ah no, it was always a question of balance, said Chief Minister Ian Gorst. And all the ministers accepted that currently the balance was not appropriate. ‘I believe there needs to be a rebalancing in that equation,’ said Senator Gorst.
If the JT announcement did come as a total surprise, Members picked themselves up from the floor very quickly and rallied to ask some sensible questions about competition and such like. Well, mostly sensible questions. Perhaps it is a little early, Deputy Kevin Lewis, to be thinking about a new name for the company. JT Airtel? Airtel JT? Your guess is as good as mine.
