Senator Lyndon Farnham – who is leading the political oversight group for the project – has said he is considering asking States Members to meet next week in the wake of a Scrutiny amendment he said was ‘unacceptable’ and threatened the entire Hospital project.
The Future Hospital Review Panel, chaired by Senator Kristina Moore, hit out at Senator Farnham for the speed at which ministers were attempting to advance the project, saying the ‘proposals and decisions being made lack sufficient information, analysis and rigour’.
The ministerial proposition regarding the preferred access route to the Overdale site is due to be debated on 9 February, and the Scrutiny amendment was lodged this week.
Senator Moore said States Members were being asked to make a ‘blind decision’ because the government was unwilling to publish drawings of the access route.
The Scrutiny Panel has worked with UK-based consultancy K2 on a report and observations from the company have been sent to Senator Farnham and all Members by Senator Moore.
The K2 observations stated that: ‘The level of information and evidence to support robust decision making is lacking, in our view. It would appear that the overriding criteria for all major decisions is speed.’
The effect of the government’s approach, K2 added, was that there was insufficient time to produce adequate data or analysis in order to make fully informed decisions, as well as adversely affecting the time available for the work of Scrutiny.
The Scrutiny amendment would require ministers to produce detailed drawings of the access route by 2 March, as well as details regarding access by different modes of transport, acquisition of third-party land, impact assessments, timescales and budget.
‘Why should Members take a decision before seeing the details?’ Senator Moore said. ‘Government officers have the software to provide three-dimensional drawings, so why won’t they do this?’
Ministers have asked for a copy of the K2 report, saying it was unacceptable that it would not be presented to the States until Friday 5 February, but Senator Moore has said the final report is not yet ready as a result of the hurried timetable.
Senator Farnham said he was ‘exasperated’ at the latest developments and the prospect of further delaying the project into March.
‘This is not a helpful or necessary amendment, and if it was adopted it would effectively bring the project to a halt and make it impossible to deliver within the proposed timescale and budget,’ he said. ‘The Assembly reached a landmark decision in selecting Overdale in November and yet we have been held up by the access. We could have debated this matter during January, but we agreed to wait until 9 February as part of our wish to engage with Scrutiny.
‘The priority for the Assembly and the political oversight group is to get on without delay – we owe that to the clinicians, other frontline health workers, and future generations of Islanders who will work in and use the Hospital.’
It was right that States Members should approve the principle of the access route, Senator Farnham added, before the details of the project were finalised by experts and through the planning process.
Senator Farnham said the importance of getting on with the project meant he was considering making a request for a special sitting next week, with a decision on this matter likely this week.
The move for a possible earlier debate appears to have resulted from the breakdown in the relationship between ministers and Scrutiny.
‘There’s nothing constructive here from Scrutiny,’ said Senator Farnham. ‘They are meant to play the role of critical friend, but in the absence of that it’s important to press on with the project – even one extra week would make a positive difference.’
There has been ministerial support for a second amendment, put forward by St Helier Constable Simon Crowcroft, relating to protection of green space and the relocation of community facilities and parking spaces.
