‘COMPLICATED, ambiguous and conflicting’ election rules could delay the decision over planning permission for the Island’s new hospital, the Environment Minister has said.
Deputy John Young made the comments after being asked by a Scrutiny panel to clarify whether he would give his verdict on the application for £800 million scheme at Overdale ahead of the general election on 22 June.
The Future Hospital Review Panel, chaired by Senator Kristina Moore, has expressed concern about the matter and how it will be handled by Deputy Young once he receives the report of independent inspector Philip Staddon next month.
Following the public inquiry into the planning application for the hospital earlier this month, Mr Staddon is due to deliver his report to Deputy Young by 13 May – after the start of the ‘purdah’ period which restricts government activity either side of an election.
Senator Moore said: ‘We await the inspector’s advice with interest – if Mr Staddon expresses any reservations about the hospital plans, [the matter] should be left for the next government to solve.’
The Environment Minister, who has responsibility to make the final ruling on planning permission, has been sent an official letter by Senator Moore’s panel asking whether this decision would be made during purdah, and to provide ‘rationale and principle’ behind his answer.
Deputy Young said he was taking advice on the matter and was not in a position to respond to the Scrutiny request at present. But he said he expected that he would provide clarity by the start of the next sitting of the States Assembly on Monday, and admitted the position was not a straightforward one.
He said: ‘The rules for purdah have been set and lay out what you can and can’t do, but they are very complicated, ambiguous and conflicting – they state that government has to go on, but also cover not making long-term decisions.
‘I am giving the matter thoughtful and careful consideration, but at the moment I’m not able to say what route I will take.’
Deputy Young, who has said he will not be seeking re-election in June, said there were a series of options available to him, which included accepting Mr Staddon’s recommendation about whether planning permission should be granted or refused, or to go against the inspector’s recommendation, in which case an explanation of this decision would be necessary.
Other options, the minister added, would be to refer back to Mr Staddon if his report failed to address certain matters in sufficient detail, or to decline to make a decision, in which case the matter would become the responsibility of the new Council of Ministers.
He added: ‘I can see the argument that I won’t be a minister in the future, so I should not determine this application, but the other point of view is that I have lived through this whole business.
‘I haven’t taken part in any Assembly debates or discussions at the Council of Ministers, but I am completely au fait with the details, I listened to the inquiry, have read the submissions and I made the decision on the previous application, so I would argue that I’m well prepared to determine the application.’
Deputy Young added that it was his understanding that he would retain his ministerial powers until 27 June, the date newly elected States Members will be sworn in, after which the outgoing Chief Minister would take on these powers until a new Council of Ministers is elected, which is set to happen by 12 July.
While he wanted to concentrate on planning issues in reaching his decision on the hospital application, Deputy Young said he would need to ‘clear my mind’ of the ‘politics and procedure’ surrounding the topic.
Senator Moore repeated her criticism of the way the hospital project had been handled by the Council of Ministers since the 2018 election.
She said: ‘The government pledged to deliver a cheaper alternative in a swift timeframe, but four years later they have spent £100m and gambled on a single option which they were advised [by planning officers] last August had considerable drawbacks.’
