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Altair contract

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WQ.206/2019

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR CHILDREN AND HOUSING

BY DEPUTY K.F. MOREL OF ST. LAWRENCE

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 21st MAY 2019

Question

Will the Minister provide –

  1. the date of the meeting of the Housing Policy Development Board at which it was decided to appoint Altair as consultants to the Board;
  2. the cost of the Altair contract;
  3. the details of the work Altair has been contractually asked to undertake; and
  4. whether or not a tender process was used to select Altair and, if a tender process was used, the number of companies that bid for the work and the opening and closing dates of the tender process?

Answer

The Chief Minister established the Housing Policy Development Board by Ministerial Decision on 19 March 2019. This included a requirement to use an external housing specialist.

The work of the housing specialist is set out in the Ministerial Decision from the Chief Minister as follows:

  • manage the work and activities of the Board
  • undertake research (primary and secondary; identification and liaison with expert witnesses
  • scope policy, delivery and financing recommendations
  • prepare final reports

The first meeting of the Housing Policy Development Board was held on 9 April 2019. The minutes from the Board meeting have been published on gov.je. The minutes from the meeting note:

It was noted that the board hoped to be able to engage an independent housing adviser to produce a report on issues in Jersey's housing market and the long-term measures required to deliver a sustainable housing market.

Following the first meeting of the board, funding for the external housing specialist was confirmed as part of a larger sum (£122,780) approved by the Minister for Treasury and Resources, which is recorded in a Ministerial Decision (18 April).

The contract with Altair in respect of support for the Housing Policy Development Board was agreed in the sum of £97,850 and was approved by a senior officer under Financial Directions and did not require a tender process.

The balance of the sum released by the Minister for Treasury and Resources relates to a separate contract to undertake additional detailed research in respect of key worker accommodation provision. This contract will also be undertaken by Altair, continuing the successful work completed at the end of 2018, which has already supported the provision of key worker accommodation.