States Meeting Transcript - 23rd February 2010

STATES OF JERSEY OFFICIAL REPORT

TUESDAY, 23rd FEBRUARY 2010

QUESTIONS ......................................................................................... 9

1. Written Questions ........................................................................... 9

1. SENATOR B.E. SHENTON OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING THE LOWEST WAGE PAID WITHIN THE JERSEY PUBLIC SECTOR: .............................. 9
   2. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES REGARDING THE SEPARATION OF SURFACE WATER FROM THE FOUL SEWAGE NETWORK IN ST. HELIER: .... 10
   3. THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING AIRPORT STAFF: .................................. 12
   4. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING PRODUCTIVITY LOST IN JERSEY BUSINESSES THROUGH STAFF ILLNESSES: ....................................................... 17
   5. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING RESPIRITORY ILLNESS STATISTICS: ................. 18
   6. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING THE COST TO THE JERSEY HEALTH SERVICES FROM RESPIRITORY ILLNESSES: ...................................... 18
   7. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARTIN OF THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS REGARDING THE NUMBER OF PROPERTIES SEARCHED BY THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ALLEGED MISUSE OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS: ............................................................. 20
   8. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL ACCOUNTS FOR INCOME SUPPORT RECIPIENTS: ................................................................ 22
   9. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING THE REVIEW OF ALL INCOME SUPPORT CLAIMS: . 23
   10. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING CHANGES IN POLICY ON THE APPLICATION OF THE REGULATION OF UNDERTAKINGS AND DEVELOPMENT (JERSEY) LAW 1973: ............................................................................... 25
   11. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF AFFORDABLE HOMES: ........................ 27

13. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING SEVERENCE BONUS PAYMENTS TO THE FORMER CHIEF OFFICER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES: .................................................. 28
14. DEPUTY T. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHAIRMAN OF PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES REGARDING MEMBERS' ATTENDANCE IN THE STATES: .... 29

15. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING ALLEGATIONS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SWORN AFFIDAVIT OF THE CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE: .................................... 30
16. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING HIS PART IN THE SUSPENSION OF THE CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE: ........................................................................ 31
17. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE NUMBER OF 1(1)(k) RESIDENTS PAYING TAX: ...................................................................................... 31
18. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES: .................................................................... 32
19. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES: .................................................................... 33
20. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES: .............................................................................. 33
21. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES: .... 33
22. DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE ANNUAL STAFF COSTS OF THE CORPORATE PROCUREMENT UNIT:.......................................... 34
23. DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING ESTIMATES OF OVERALL HOUSING SUPPLY AND DEMAND: ................................................................................ 34
24. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING DATA ON CHILD CYCLE-RELATED ACCIDENTS: ... 36
25. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING OBESITY STATISTICS: ................................... 37
26. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES REGARDING ANNUAL REPORTS AND DATA ON ROAD ACCIDENTS: .................................................................... 39
27. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING THE VALUE OF THE ISLAND'S AQUACULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRIES:.......................................................... 40
28. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING TOURISM BUDGET FIGURES: ................... 41
29. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING HOUSING TRUST REGULATIONS: .................................. 42

2. Oral Questions ............................................................................. 43

1. Connétable G.F. Butcher of St. John of the Minister for Housing regarding the possible reintroduction of the old States' Loan system: ........................................... 43 Senator T.J. Le Main (The Minister for Housing): ............................................. 43

1. Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier : ...................................................... 43
2. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 44
3. Deputy P.J. Rondel of St. John : .......................................................... 44
4. Deputy D.J.A. Wimberley of St. Mary : .................................................. 44
5. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 44
6. Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade :......................................................... 44
7. Deputy M. Tadier : ........................................................................ 45

8. Deputy R.C. Duhamel of St. Saviour :.................................................... 45
9. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 45

2. The Deputy of St. John of the Chief Minister regarding the estimated cost of the recent emergency exercise at Jersey Airport: .................................................... 46 Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister): .................................................. 46

1. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 46
2. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 46
3. Deputy C.H. Egré of St. Peter :............................................................ 47
4. The Very Reverend R.F. Key, B.A., The Dean of Jersey: ................................ 47
5. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 47

3. Deputy D.J. De Sousa of the Minister for Housing regarding steps proposed to secure sites for housing: .......................................................................... 47 Senator T.J. Le Main (The Minister for Housing): ............................................. 48

1. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 48
2. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 48
3. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 48
4. Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier :......................................................... 48
5. Deputy J.A. Martin: ...................................................................... 49
6. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 49
7. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire of St. Helier :.................................................... 49
8. Deputy M.R. Higgins of St. Helier : ...................................................... 50
9. The Connétable of St. John : .............................................................. 50
10. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: ................................................................ 50

4. Deputy K.C. Lewis of St. Saviour of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the withdrawal of the peritoneal dialysis service: ............................. 50 Deputy J.A. Martin (Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services - rapporteur): ........ 50

1. Deputy K.C. Lewis : ...................................................................... 50
2. Deputy K.C. Lewis : ...................................................................... 51
3. Deputy J.B. Fox of St. Helier :............................................................ 51
4. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 51
5. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 52
6. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 52
7. Deputy J.M. Maçon of St. Saviour : ...................................................... 52
8. Deputy M. Tadier : ........................................................................ 52
9. Deputy T.A. Vallois of St. Saviour : ...................................................... 52
10. Deputy K.C. Lewis : .................................................................... 53

5. Connétable D.W. Mezbourian of St. Lawrence of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services regarding the limitation of speed along the cycle track: ............. 53 Connétable M.K. Jackson of St. Brelade (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services): ............................................................................................ 53

1. The Connétable of St. Lawrence :......................................................... 54
2. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier of St. Saviour : ................................................ 54
3. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 54
4. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 54
5. Deputy J.B. Fox: .......................................................................... 55
6. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 55
7. Deputy M. Tadier : ........................................................................ 55
8. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 55
9. The Connétable of St. Lawrence :......................................................... 55

6. Deputy M. Tadier of the Chief Minister regarding the implementation of the Chapman report recommendations: ................................................................. 56 Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister): .................................................. 56

1. Deputy M. Tadier : ........................................................................ 56
2. Deputy M. Tadier : ........................................................................ 57

7. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire of the Minister for Housing regarding new social housing units constructed during the past 5 years: ...................................................... 57 Senator T.J. Le Main (The Minister for Housing): ............................................. 57

1. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ................................................................. 58
2. Deputy S. Pitman of St. Helier : .......................................................... 58
3. Deputy S. Pitman: ........................................................................ 58
4. The Connétable of St. John : .............................................................. 58
5. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 59
6. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 59
7. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 59
8. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 59
9. Deputy M.R. Higgins: .................................................................... 60
10. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: .............................................................. 60

8. Deputy F.J. Hill of St. Martin of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the return to work of the Consultant Cynaecologist: ..................................... 60 Deputy E.J. Noel of St. Lawrence (Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services - rapporteur): ............................................................................... 60

1. The Deputy of St. Martin : ................................................................ 61
2. Senator S.C. Ferguson: ................................................................... 61
3. Senator S.C. Ferguson: ................................................................... 61
4. Senator S.C. Ferguson: ................................................................... 61
5. Deputy M.R. Higgins: .................................................................... 62
6. Deputy S. Pitman: ........................................................................ 62
7. Deputy S. Pitman: ........................................................................ 62
8. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 62
9. Deputy A.E. Jeune of St. Brelade : ........................................................ 62
10. The Deputy of St. Peter : ............................................................... 63
11. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 63
12. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 63
13. The Deputy of St. Martin : ............................................................. 63

9. Deputy J.A. Hilton of St. Helier of the Minister for Planning and Environment regarding Field 1248, La Pouquelaye, St. Helier : ................................................... 64 Deputy R.C. Duhamel (Assistant Minister for Planning and Environment - rapporteur): ...... 64
10. Deputy G.P. Southern of the Chief Minister regarding the total annual cost of a typical redundancy in the private and the public sector to the revenues of the States: .......... 64 Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister): .................................................. 64

2.10.1 Deputy G.P. Southern : ................................................................ 64

11. The Deputy of St. Mary of the Chairman of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel regarding the Comptroller and Auditor General's report "States' Expenditure Forecasts" of February 2010: ......................................................................... 65 Senator S.C. Ferguson (Chairman of the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel): ................ 65

1. The Deputy of St. Mary : .............................................................. 65
2. Deputy G.P. Southern : ................................................................ 66
3. Deputy G.P. Southern : ................................................................ 66
4. The Deputy of St. Mary : .............................................................. 66

12. Connétable J. Gallichan of St. Mary of the Minister for Economic Development regarding steps to eliminate the use of non pure bred bull semen in the future within the dairy industry: ............................................................................ 67 Connétable L. Norman of St. Clement (Assistant Minister for Economic Development - rapporteur): ............................................................................... 67

1. The Connétable of St. Mary : .......................................................... 67
2. The Connétable of St. Mary : .......................................................... 68
3. The Deputy of St. Peter : ............................................................... 68
4. Deputy K.C. Lewis : .................................................................... 68
5. Connétable K.P. Vibert of St. Ouen : .................................................. 69

13. Deputy T.M. Pitman of the Chief Minister regarding the potential suspension of the Chief Executive:.......................................................................... 69 Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister): .................................................. 69

1. Deputy T.M. Pitman: .................................................................. 69
2. The Deputy of St. Martin : ............................................................. 69
3. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 70
4. Deputy M. Tadier : ..................................................................... 70
5. Deputy M. Tadier : ..................................................................... 70

14. Deputy A.E. Jeune of St. Brelade of the Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the return to practice of the previously excluded Consultant Gynaecologist: ............................................................................ 70 Deputy E.J. Noel (Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services): ........................ 70

1. Deputy A.E. Jeune :.................................................................... 71
2. The Deputy of St. Martin : ............................................................. 71
3. Deputy A.E. Jeune :.................................................................... 71

15. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier of H.M. Attorney General regarding the recent appointment of the new Solicitor General: ................................................................ 72 Mr. T.J. Le Cocq Q.C., H.M. Attorney General: ............................................... 72

1. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 72
2. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 72
3. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................. 72

16. The Deputy of St. Mary of the Minister for Treasury and Resources regarding potential sites for concentrating new States' offices within the town centre:...................... 73 Senator P.F.C. Ozouf (The Minister for Treasury and Resources): ............................ 73

1. The Deputy of St. Mary : .............................................................. 73
2. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: ................................................................ 73

3. The Deputy of St. Mary : .............................................................. 74

3. Questions to Ministers without notice - The Minister for Transport and Technical Services ..................................................................................... 74

1. Senator S.C. Ferguson: ................................................................... 74 The Connétable of St. Brelade (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services):......... 74

1. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 75
2. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 75

2. The Connétable of St. Mary : .............................................................. 75
3. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 76

3.3.1 Deputy A.E. Jeune : ....................................................................... 76

4. Deputy R.C. Duhamel: .................................................................... 76
5. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 76

3.5.1 The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 76

6. Deputy M.R. Higgins: .................................................................... 77
7. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ................................................................ 77
8. The Connétable of St. Lawrence :......................................................... 77
9. Deputy A.T. Dupre of St. Clement : ...................................................... 77
10. Deputy J.B. Fox: .......................................................................... 77
11. Senator S.C. Ferguson: ................................................................... 78
12. Deputy C.F. Labey of Grouville : ......................................................... 78

13. The Connétable of St. John : .............................................................. 78

4. Questions to Ministers without notice - The Minister for Economic Development ... 78

1. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ................................................................ 78 Senator A.J.H. Maclean (The Minister for Economic Development): .......................... 78

1. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ................................................................ 78
   2. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ................................................................. 79
   3. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 79

4.3.1 The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 79

4. Deputy T.A. Vallois: ...................................................................... 80
5. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 80
6. Deputy T.M. Pitman: ..................................................................... 80

4.6.1 Deputy T.M. Pitman: ..................................................................... 80

7. Deputy D.J. De Sousa: .................................................................... 81
8. Deputy J.B. Fox: .......................................................................... 81
9. The Deputy of St. Martin : ................................................................ 81
10. The Connétable of St. Mary : .............................................................. 81
11. Deputy M.R. Higgins: .................................................................... 82
12. Deputy R.C. Duhamel: .................................................................... 82

4.12.1 Deputy R.C. Duhamel: ................................................................ 83

STATEMENTS ON A MATTER OF OFFICIAL RESPONSIBILITY ........................ 83

5. The Minister for Transport and Technical Services - statement regarding snow and ice procedures .............................................................................. 83

5.1 The Connétable of St. Brelade (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services): .. 83

1. Deputy J.M. Maçon: ...................................................................... 84
2. The Connétable of St. Mary : .............................................................. 84
3. The Connétable of St. Mary : .............................................................. 85
4. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ................................................................ 85
5. Deputy A.K.F. Green of St. Helier : ...................................................... 85
6. The Connétable of St. Mary : .............................................................. 85
7. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 86
8. The Deputy of St. Peter :.................................................................. 86

6. The Chairman of the Privileges and Procedures Committee - statement regarding the absence of Senator Syvret ................................................................. 86

6.1 The Connétable of St. Mary (Chairman of the Privileges and Procedures Committee): . 86

1. The Deputy of St. John : .................................................................. 87
2. The Deputy of St. Martin : ................................................................ 87
3. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 88
4. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 88
5. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 88
6. The Connétable of St. Brelade : ........................................................... 89

LUNCHEON ADJOURNMENT PROPOSED ................................................... 89 LUNCHEON ADJOURNMENT .................................................................. 89 PUBLIC BUSINESS ................................................................................ 90

7. Natural Gas Pipeline: strategic study (P.157/2009) ...................................... 90

1. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ................................................................. 90
   2. Deputy G.P. Southern : .................................................................... 95

3. The Deputy of St. Mary : .................................................................. 95
4. Deputy R.C. Duhamel: .................................................................... 97
5. The Deputy of St. Peter :.................................................................. 99
6. Connétable D.J. Murphy of Grouville : .................................................. 100
7. Deputy J.B. Fox: ........................................................................ 100
8. The Deputy of St. John : ................................................................. 101
9. Deputy J.A. Martin: ..................................................................... 103
10. Deputy A.E. Jeune :................................................................... 104
11. Deputy M. Tadier : .................................................................... 104
12. Deputy M.R. Higgins: ................................................................ 104
13. Connétable A.S. Crowcroft of St. Helier : ............................................ 105
14. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ............................................................. 105

8. Draft Jersey Mutual Insurance Society, Incorporated (Alteration of Rules) (No. 6) (Jersey) Law 200- (P.212/2009).......................................................... 108

8.1 Senator A.J.H. Maclean: ................................................................ 109

1. The Deputy of St. John : ................................................................. 109
2. Connétable P.F.M. Hanning of St. Saviour : ............................................ 111

9. Jersey Overseas Aid Commission: Appointment of Commissioner (P.2/2010) ...... 111

9.1 Deputy I.J. Gorst : ........................................................................ 111

10. Planning and Environment: Division into 2 Ministerial Offices (P.3/2010) .......... 111

10.1 Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ................................................................ 111

1. Deputy T.M. Pitman: ................................................................. 116
2. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ............................................................. 117
3. Deputy T.M. Pitman: ................................................................. 117
4. The Connétable of St. Clement : ...................................................... 117
5. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: ............................................................. 117
6. Senator F.E. Cohen: .................................................................. 118
7. The Deputy of St. Mary : ............................................................. 119
8. The Deputy of St. John :.............................................................. 121
9. Deputy P.V.F Le Claire: .............................................................. 121
10. Deputy R.C. Duhamel: ............................................................ 121
11. The Connétable of St. Lawrence : .................................................. 122
12. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire: .......................................................... 123

11. Manual Workers' Joint Council: Employers' Side Membership (P.6/2010) ......... 124

11.1 Senator T.A. Le Sueur : .................................................................. 124

12. Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie, Jersey Branch - Branch rules (P.11/2010) ................................................................................ 125

12.1 The Connétable of St. Ouen : ............................................................ 125

13. Jersey Law Commission: Appointment of Chairman (P.13/2010).................... 126

13.1 Senator T.A. Le Sueur : .................................................................. 126

1. The Connétable of St. Clement : ...................................................... 126
2. Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier: ............................................................ 127
3. Senator T.A. Le Sueur : ............................................................... 127

14. Jersey Financial Services Commission: Appointment of Commissioner (P.5/2010) - In Camera Session ........................................................................... 129

ADJOURNMENT ................................................................................. 131

The Roll was called and the Dean led the Assembly in Prayer.

[9:46]

QUESTIONS

1.  Written Questions

1.1. SENATOR B.E. SHENTON OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING THE LOWEST WAGE PAID WITHIN THE JERSEY PUBLIC SECTOR:

Question

What is the lowest wage paid on a per hour basis in the Jersey Public Sector, what other benefits, if any, does this rôle include, and what is the estimated value of these benefits?

Answer WAGE

The lowest adult wage paid in the Jersey Public Sector is for Civil Service Grade 1.0. The hourly rate for Civil Service Grade 1.0 is £8.5618.

BENEFITS

The main benefits enjoyed by a Civil Servant in that grade include:

• Annual leave of 22 days;
• Paid leave on public holidays
• Final salary Public Employees Contributory Pension Scheme (PECRS);
• Paid sickness entitlement of 26 weeks at full pay and 26 weeks at half pay (subject to a maximum of 51 weeks and 4 days in any 4 year period);
• Maternity leave of 12 weeks at 90% of basic pay;
• Paternity leave of 2 weeks at 90% of basic pay;
• Special leave provisions including:
  • Up to a maximum of 5 days bereavement leave;
  • 1 day urgent domestic distress (subject to a maximum of 6 days in any 1 year);

VALUE OF BENEFITS

The tangible benefits of annual leave, public holidays and PECRS can be valued as follows: Annual leave 8.8%

Public holidays 3.6%

PECRS 13.6%

Total 26.0%

Due to their entirely variable nature (i.e. some employees will not benefit from any of them and it is extremely unlikely that any employee will benefit from all of them), it is not possible to quantify the financial value of the remainder of the benefits listed above.

2. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES REGARDING THE SEPARATION OF SURFACE WATER FROM THE FOUL SEWAGE NETWORK IN ST. HELIER:

Question

Given that the Transport and Technical Services Department has now been awarded a total of £370,792 from the Fiscal Stimulus Fund to continue its programme of work separating surface water from the foul sewer network in St. Helier, can the Minister provide a schematic and text brief outlining what has been and what remains to be upgraded within the mains drains networks and sewerage systems in the parishes which feed through the St. Helier system?

Answer

The programme of sewerage system upgrades on the Island is driven predominantly by the need to ensure that the sewerage network operates satisfactorily, even under adverse conditions, and that Jersey is, and continues to be, effectively drained.

More specifically, the programme of upgrades needs to ensure that during the normal operation of the network, pollution is prevented and the risk of flooding minimised as much as possible.

The process of upgrading the sewer network has been ongoing for a number of years and has focused on a number of issues.

Firstly, it has focused on the twin objectives of reducing the risk of surface flooding from the foul and combined sewers, and reducing the number of occasions the combined sewerage systems spill dilute sewage to sea.

Secondly, it has focused on the need to replace pumping station rising main pipes that historically were laid using a material that time has shown is susceptible to eventual failure, due to the variations of pressure that the rising mains operate under.

Thirdly, it has focused on addressing the day to day work that is required of any sewerage network to ensure that it operates satisfactorily, such as repairing or replacing broken or degraded pipes, preventing surface water infiltration and keeping the risk of blockages to a minimum.

In considering the twin objectives of reducing the risk of surface flooding from the foul and combined sewers, and reducing the number of occasions the combined sewerage systems spill dilute sewage to sea.

Combined sewers carry both foul and surface water and as a consequence, there is a risk that their capacity can be exceeded during periods of heavy rainfall, leading to surface flooding. To minimise this risk, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO's) are constructed at key locations in the system, but predominantly in St Helier where they are most required.

These CSO's are essentially chambers that allow the combined sewage and surface water to spill over into the surface water system when the flow in the combined system reaches a certain level. Whilst this arrangement reduces the risk of surface flooding, it does mean that dilute sewage is discharged to sea.

The construction of the cavern in the late 1990's has made a huge contribution towards limiting the incidences of spills to sea, as flows that used to spill over from the Weighbridge CSO and out to sea on a regular basis, are now re-directed to this facility.

When the rainfall has stopped and the flows in the sewers have returned to normal levels, the flows stored in the cavern are returned to the sewerage network and transported to Bellozanne sewage treatment works.

Surface water separation schemes are essential for reducing the flows in combined sewers as they remove significant volumes of clean water from the combined network and direct it straight to sea. The cumulative effect of these schemes is that it takes a more extreme rainfall event to generate the flows in the combined sewers necessary to cause the CSO's to operate.

In addition, these schemes also significantly reduce the volumes of clean water that are currently pumped to the sewage treatment works for unnecessary treatment. Hence, pumping and treatment costs are reduced. They also free up additional capacity in the foul network for development, which has taken on more importance given that the new draft Island Plan has targeted most new development in the St Helier area.

A number of significant surface water separation schemes have taken place in recent years. These include in Midvale Road and Val Plaisant, which has reduced the flows at the Victoria Street CSO, at Union Street and Le Geyt Street, which has reduced the flows at the Union Street CSO, and in Poonah Road, which has reduced the flows at the Aquila Road CSO.

The latest scheme to receive funding, the Queens Road to Midvale Road surface water separation will, along with the recent La Pouquelaye and Roussel Street schemes, further reduce flows at the Great Union Road CSO.

In addition to the above, a major surface water separation scheme has been carried out in Green Street, which has reduced the combined flows reaching the Dicq pumping station, which ultimately, serves the east of the Island. This in turn has reduced the risk of the capacity of this pumping station being exceeded during rainfall events, which would again result in dilute sewage being spilled to sea.

Moving forward, it is intended that surface water separation in key areas will continue. In particular, further schemes are planned for the Harve des Pas and Greve d'Azette areas to further reduce the flows reaching the Dicq pumping station. There are significant benefits to separating in these areas as there a number of large developments that have been constructed, or are in the process of being constructed, that have separated on-site drainage, which will ensure that large areas of contributing hardstanding will be removed from the combined system as a result of new surface water sewers.

However, one area of concern is the Bath Street, West Centre area of St Helier, which does not have a CSO facility from which combined flows can spill during periods of heavy rain. As part of the cavern and tunnel works carried out in the late 1990's, a CSO facility was planned for this area, but was never constructed due to land issues. As a result, this area is still at risk of flooding from the combined sewer system.

Annual requests for funding to construct a shaft in the Phillips Street area to connect to the tunnel under St Helier have been made, but to date, have not been successful. A shaft in this location would allow a CSO to be constructed that would in turn enable high flows in the combined sewers in this area to be discharged to the cavern and thus significantly reduce the risk of flooding.

In addition, the construction of a surface water link to the tunnel at the same time would allow surface water separation schemes to be constructed through the eastern area of town. Currently, these are not possible as there is nowhere to discharge the surface water.

In an effort to limit the risk of flooding in the West Centre area, surface water separation schemes are planned further north, in the Stopford Road, Byron Road and Byron Lane area. These will discharge to the northern end of the tunnel under St Helier, which is located in Gas Place car park. However, the construction of a shaft at Phillips Street is essential for ensuring that the remaining risk of flooding in that area is reduced to acceptable levels.

With regard to the second issue, which is the ongoing programme of replacing old pumping station rising mains, a number of these have been carried out over the last few years and include major east coast rising mains at Fauvic, Le Rivage, Le Bourg, and most recently, the rising main for the La Collette Marina pumping station. Le Bourg in particular failed on a couple of occasions before it was upgraded, incidents which if repeated today could result in prosecution under the Water Pollution (Jersey) Law 2000.

Future necessary rising main upgrades, the flows from which feed through St Helier, include those at Archirondel, and Rozel 1, 3 & 4 pumping stations in St Martin and Rue du Pont, Golf Lane and The Links pumping stations in Grouville .

An application for funding for the Rozel 1, 3 & 4 pumping station rising main works is currently being considered by the Fiscal Stimulus Steering Group and Treasury and Resources as this is one of the schemes put forward by the Transport and Technical Department for inclusion in the Fiscal Stimulus programme.

Finally, works required to maintain the general fabric of the sewer network are always ongoing. Regular CCTV surveys are carried out and the condition of the network is continually recorded, updated and monitored so that repair and upgrading works can be implemented at the appropriate time. Examples of this are the Poonah Road sewer reconstruction scheme, completed several years ago, and the Railway Walk foul sewer upgrade in St Brelade, the final section of which is to be upgraded shortly with monies provided by the Fiscal Stimulus programme.

Towards the end of this year, the construction of a new computerised sewer network model should be complete, which will enable a more accurate analysis of the operation of the network under extreme conditions. Based on the outcome of this analysis, potential problem areas in the network can be more readily identified, and as a result, proposed upgrade works better targeted.

Given the extent and complexity of the sewer network, it is difficult to represent the foregoing as an illustration on one drawing, as the Deputy has requested. However, a visit to the TTS Engineering Design offices for the Deputy can be arranged if he would like to see more detail and receive more information.

3. THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING AIRPORT STAFF:

Question

Would the Minister -

1. provide air passenger numbers for the years 2000 to date and extrapolate those for the next 10 years as a trend based on the previous years;
2. advise the number of Airport staff in the employ of the States by department for the period 2000 to date;

3. advise how many new departments have been established at the Airport since 2000 and indicate what these are and in which year they were established;
4. advise whether any consultants or staff have been engaged at the Airport on fixed term contracts since 2000 and, if so, for what length of time and for what purposes?

Answer

1. Refer to Continuation Sheet 1. The attached graph shows actual passenger numbers to date since 2000, and a 1 percent per annum projected growth which has been used for business planning purposes.
2. Refer to Continuation Sheet 2. The attached table shows the number of FTEs/posts at the Airport and the number of heads/people employed in those posts each year for the period 2000 to date, presented by department. Explanations of the variance between posts and head count are given below the statistics.
3. Four new departments have been created at Jersey Airport, including safety, compliance and marketing/airline relations. These are considered vital for the airport to remain complaint with accepted aviation standards and the retention and growth of business respectively, both established in 2008. In 2007 an Operations department and Operations Directorate were also established to direct and co-ordinate safety functions across the airport.

It is worth noting that since 2000 there has been a reduction in departments from Met office (transferred to Planning & Environment in 2004), Radio Officers were transferred to Jersey Harbours in 2003 and employees in Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunications Network (AFTN) were made redundant in 2006.

4. Reference to continuation sheet 3 and continuation sheet 4. The assumption has been made that the request relates to specific individuals/consultants effectively being employed as Jersey Airport staff on fixed term contracts compared to consultants and/or companies employed for specific projects due to their specialist knowledge, whereby a number of individuals may be involved.

4. DEPUTY P.V.F.  LE  CLAIRE  OF  ST.  HELIER  OF  THE  MINISTER  FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING PRODUCTIVITY LOST IN JERSEY BUSINESSES THROUGH STAFF ILLNESSES:

Question

Does the Economic Development Department collate information on the amount of economic productivity lost in Jersey through staff illness, and, if so, what was the estimated cost to businesses in 2009 and 2008?

Answer

The Economic Development Department does not collate information on the amount of economic productivity lost in Jersey through staff illness.

5. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING RESPIRITORY ILLNESS STATISTICS:

Question

How  many  prescriptions  are  made  for  medicines,  including  inhalers,  in  Jersey  by  General Practitioners on an annual basis for the treatment of respiratory illness?

What are the costs to the States for providing these medicines and remedies?

How many sick days were lost due to respiratory illnesses in 2008 and 2009 in the private and public sectors?

Answer

In 2009 a total of 114,449 prescription items were dispensed under the Health Insurance Fund in Jersey for respiratory drugs at a total cost of £1,672,557.57. This information relates to treatments for long-term conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as treatments for short term illnesses such as hay fever, other allergies, and cough medicines.

Please note that this total does not include items such as antibiotics which are used to treat a variety of conditions including respiratory illness.

The Social Security Department holds records of certified sickness absence through processing claims to Short Term Incapacity Allowance and Invalidity Benefit. Please note that there is no certification for single day absences. Since October 2004, individuals with long term respiratory illnesses have been able to claim Long Term Incapacity Allowance. This benefit is paid regardless of the employment status of the individual and these individuals are not included in the table below.

The table below contains details of how many days certified sickness absence is recorded in relation to respiratory illness during 2008 and 2009 for both private and public sector employees.

Certified sickness absence relating to respiratory illness

6. DEPUTY P.V.F. LE CLAIRE OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING THE COST TO THE JERSEY HEALTH SERVICES FROM RESPIRITORY ILLNESSES:

Question

What is the cost to the Health Service in Jersey from respiratory illness per annum?

What are the main causes of respiratory illness and can these be given on a percentage basis? What are the interventions that are given in Jersey to alleviate these illnesses?

What are costs and manpower implications in doing so?

Answer

Increasing costs

It is not possible to calculate with any degree of meaningful accuracy the cost of respiratory illness to Health and Social Services. It does however represent a significant and growing cost.

At present respiratory diagnoses represent 4 out of the top 10 reasons for acute emergency admissions in Jersey, with the rate of repeat emergency admissions rising by 10% in the past 5 years. Outpatient respiratory referrals have also increased significantly.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) alone accounts for 1,000 admissions each year, with an average length of stay of between 5 and 7 days (ie. 5,000 - 7,000 bed days). Given that COPD is prevalent in more the 10% of people aged 70 or over, the costs associated with managing and treating this condition will inevitably increase as our population ages.

Causes of respiratory illness  

There are many causes of respiratory illness, of which the primary one are listed below. Many cases have multiple, as opposed to single causes and it is not possible to indicate in percentage terms the number of cases attributable to each cause. Smoking and passive smoking, are obviously major factors and initiatives which support smoking cessation will bring major health benefits, although it should be noted that recent studies indicate that up to one third of patients with COPD are non- smokers. Therefore even if our aging population did not smoke COPD would still represent a significant health challenge.

Primary causes include:

• viral lung infections in childhood or inadequate lung development in childhood
• smoking or passive smoking
• hereditary factors
• air pollution
• nutrient or social deprivation (poor diet, poor housing)
• occupational or accidental exposure to materials such as dust, asbestos fibres and other irritant particles

Interventions

The core components of the local service include:

Chronic obstructive  Outpatient/Inpatient care pulmonary disease

Rehabilitation

Oxygen therapy

Nebuliser service

Lung volume reduction surgery/Transplantation Palliation

Prevention

Non invasive ventilation

Static/dynamic respiratory function tests

Lung Cancer   Rapid assessment (lung function, CT scans and Bronchoscopy). Treatment will be dependant on the assessment process but could include referral and surgery at Southampton General Hospital

(approximately 10% of cases). Other treatments include:

• Radiotherapy
• Chemotherapy
• Palliation

Asthma  Outpatient/Inpatient

Occupational asthma

Assessment and regular review of more severe cases TB  Small numbers

Intensive workload – frequent review/contact tracing Other diseases  Obstructive sleep apnoea

Allergic rhinitis

Chronic cough

Interstitial lung disease

Cost and manpower implications

As indicated above it is not possible to provide a breakdown of all the costs, which will include both costs incurred during Jersey based treatment and referrals to the UK.

7. THE DEPUTY  OF  ST.  MARTIN  OF  THE  MINISTER  FOR  HOME  AFFAIRS REGARDING THE NUMBER OF PROPERTIES SEARCHED BY THE STATES OF JERSEY  POLICE  IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  ALLEGED  MISUSE  OF PERSONAL COMPUTERS:

Question

Given that the Minister's written response of 2nd February 2010 requested that I refine my original question, would he –

1. inform Members of the number of properties, since January 2007, that have been searched by the States of Jersey Police specifically in connection with the alleged misuse of personal computers and other electronic devices?
2. advise how manyof these searches were conducted with the authority of a search warrant and how many without?
3. advise how many people, if any, have been arrested specifically as a result of searches in connection with the alleged misuse of personal computers and other electronic devices, and how many, if any, have been charged?
4. inform members what the average time is that personal computers, and other items seized following such searches, are retained by the police?

Answer

(a) & (b)  A total of 299 search warrants were issued for the period 2007-2009, with over 760 premises searches under PPCE provision. Individual records would need to be interrogated to identify the specific offences, nature of items seized, and charges that followed.

6 crime investigations were conducted under the specific offence heading of computer

misuse.

(c) & (d) Answering these questions would require researching custody records for January 2007 to 2010, examination of Criminal Justice Unit files, each crime file, and analysis on a case by case basis.

It is not possible to give a clearer indication in the absence of such work. Records show that

the type of investigation involving the use of such equipment is broad and encompasses incidents such as harassment and assault.

In my view, the questions posed are still too broad and answering them more precisely would

place an unreasonable burden on Police time. However, if the Deputy of St Martin would like to refine the questions further, perhaps by explaining the context or purpose behind them, the Department will do its best to ascertain the information. In the meantime, the following background information will expand upon the difficulties we envisage:

Powers of entry, search and seizure and dealt with under the provisions of the Police Procedures and Criminal Evidence (Jersey) Law 2003 and associated Codes of Practice.

Searches may be conducted as a result of stop and search powers (persons & vehicles),

Article 19 entry to arrest or save life, Article 20(1) entry and search after arrest with Inspector's written authority, Article 21 general power of seizure (when lawfully on premises, Article 29 (1) search upon arrest and Article 29(2b) entry to premises following arrest.

The question enquires about the number of properties' entered, but it is not clear what is

regarded as property' in the question.

In the context of searches, PPCE refers to premises' rather than property', and includes any

vehicle, vessel, aircraft or hovercraft; and any tent or movable structure.

It is possible that premises entered under the respective power concerning specific offence(s), may then result in property seizure, previously unconnected with the initial entry. For

example, if officers entered premises under authority of a firearms warrant and found illicit drugs, seizure powers would obviously be engaged.

The terms personal computers and other electronic devices' is broad. Whilst a personal

computer is regarded as a desktop, laptop, tablet or handheld device, portable media players such as MP3's, iPods along with mobile phones, and other instruments may also be considered in this category.

As indicated, whilst the purpose of premises search may result in items not originally sought being seized, establishing the precise details of every phone, iPod, computer and other device seized under powers engaged across the spectrum is a considerable task that would require interrogation of records in assorted locations. For example, drugs searches will often result in the seizure of electronic devices suspected of use in conducting illegal trade.

Whilst items seized are recorded, eliciting the specific information sought, purely for those

cases resulting in a custody record, would require a search of over 9000 custody records.

When persons are detained, the arrest classification is based on broad categories and not

specific offences. For example, the reason for arrest will show as Street violence & disorder', drugs' or Traffic / Motoring' etc. Custody records do not show the reason for detention as misuse of personal computers and other electronic devices'.

It is unclear what offences the question considers to be in connection with the alleged misuse

of personal computers and other electronic devices'. Does this include Child Protection Offences, Data Protection, Unauthorised Access, Hacking, Nuisance Phone calls, Harassment or other criminal offences conducted by misuse of such devices?

8. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING HOUSEHOLD MEDICAL ACCOUNTS FOR INCOME SUPPORT RECIPIENTS:

Question

Will the Minister state whether his department has ceased creating further Household Medical Accounts (HMA) for Income Support (IS) recipients, including those with high medical needs, other than those previously in receipt of a Health Insurance Exemption (HIE), and if so why?

Will the Minister also advise whether the provisions contained in the IS (Jersey) Regulations 2007 and consequent Orders, are being correctly applied so that an eligible individual in a household with an HMA will have a fixed sum put aside from their benefit to enable up to 4 visits a year to their doctor?

Would he also confirm that, thereafter, should they need to visit their GP more often, individuals may apply for and receive additional clinical cost components up to 12 visits: and that those who require over 12 visits annually may have the cost of these visits met through special payments and would not be presented with large bills for GP visits?

Would the Minister confirm whether the IS elements designed to cater for other living expenses are being diverted to fund medical needs?

Will he further state whether decisions on medical need, including the number of consultations required, are being made by his officers?

Answer

Prior to the introduction of Income Support (IS) a limited number of households were granted Health Insurance Exception (HIE) status which entitled them to free General Practitioner (GP) visits. HIE status was removed as part of the legislative changes that brought in IS. The Income Support system now includes a range of medical components (clinical cost, personal care and mobility) which give targeted support to a greater range of families than the previous HIE system.

In the knowledge that HIE recipients were not accustomed to budgeting for their GP costs, the Department introduced an administrative function known as Household Medical Accounts (HMAs) to support these households. The HMA mechanism allocates a proportion of their IS benefit each week into a separate account, which is used to pay GP costs. The IS household does not need to deal with GP bills directly, as these are processed through the HMA.

All ex-HIE recipients who have transferred to IS have been offered a HMA facility. IS provides financial assistance in a wide variety of circumstances. Some vulnerable individuals will need a much higher level of support with budgeting and if an individual in this situation also has ongoing medical needs a HMA may be set up as part of the overall support package.

However, the HMA is a purely administrative device and all IS claimants have access to the full range of IS components. It does not affect in any way the total benefit entitlement of the claimant.

The Deputy correctly describes the procedures that are followed in paragraphs two and three of his question. However, as noted above the HMA is an administration function and does not form part of the IS legislation.

The basic IS component which covers day- to- day living costs assumes that the individual may need up to four GP visits per year. The clinical cost component is specifically designed to provide additional assistance with the cost of GP visits for individuals with medical conditions that require regular monitoring from a GP. There are also other medical components contained within IS for personal care and mobility needs that individuals can claim to assist with associated costs, depending on the nature and severity of their condition. In certain circumstances part of the mobility element of the medical component may be used to assist with the cost of home visits by GPs, where the additional cost of the visit is due to the mobility difficulties of the individual.

Officers in the department work closely with an individual's GP and their consultant (if applicable) who provide clinical advice regarding their patient's condition and the predicted number of GP consultations required over a given period. Officers then make a decision based on the information provided by the medical expert, as set out in Article 10 of the Income Support Law.

9. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SECURITY REGARDING THE REVIEW OF ALL INCOME SUPPORT CLAIMS: Question

Will the Minister inform members whether his department has started to systematically review all Income Support (IS) claims and if so:

1. when this review started;
2. how many reviews are undertaken per week;
3. how many have been completed this year to date, and

4. how many are targeted for review by 1st October 2010?

Would the Minister advise whether those on Transition Protection (TP) are included, and if so how many TP households fall into (b) to (d) above and how many of those on TP have already had their claims reviewed as a result of a change of circumstances?

As a result, how many households have had their benefit rate:

1. increased;
2. maintained;
3. reduced?

How many in (iii) have lost weekly amounts of less than £29; between £30 to £59; £60 to £89 and over £90 respectively?

Will  the  Minister  state  whether  the  phasing  in  the  Income  Support  (Transitional  Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 has been applied to these reductions and, in the light of the answers to (d) and (iii) above, will he state how many of the 3,700 households on TP will remain in the IS scheme to have this phased protection applied?

Answer

Income Support reviews can be initiated by the claimant informing the Department of a change in their circumstances or by the Department undertaking a periodic review of the claim. There have been ongoing reviews of Income Support (IS) claims since the inception of the scheme on 28th January 2008. There is some variation but on average 140 reviews are completed each week. Just over 800 reviews were undertaken between 4th January 2010 and 19th February 2010 and the Department is planning to complete approximately 5500 claim reviews in the nine months to 1st October 2010.

The Deputy refers to a figure of 3,700 transition households. As set out in my answer to his written question (4350) tabled on 28th April 2009 there were 2,734 transition claims in March 2009. As anticipated the number of households requiring transition protection has decreased steadily since the beginning of IS and it is likely that this reduction will continue in the future.

The average of 140 reviews per week includes transition claims. All transition claims will have been reviewed by 1st October 2010.

The table below provides an analysis of the changes in benefit rate for the majority of IS claims. In order to provide a sensible comparison, the figures relate to all claims that were already open on 4th November 2009 and remained open on 2nd February 2010 (i.e. claims recently opened and recently closed are not included). This comprises 7,057 claims. These figures do not include individuals receiving residential care.

Table - Changes in total weekly payment (including transition payments where appropriate)

The table shows changes to benefit rates. IS benefit payments can range from a few pounds to hundreds of pounds per week. There are many reasons why IS increases or decreases in value as a result of a change in circumstances such as changes in members of a household unit, births, deaths, changes in income or accommodation.

I can confirm that the phasing included in the Income Support (Transitional Provisions) (Jersey) Order 2008 has not yet been applied because households currently in receipt of IS transition are all still receiving 100% protection of their legacy benefits, where they continue to be entitled to the legacy benefit. This will be maintained for those who continue to qualify until the first down rate in October 2010 as set out in the Transition Order.

Many households no longer require transition protection because their IS entitlement has increased and now exceeds the value of the protected payment. In other cases family circumstances have changed and the underlying legacy benefit is no longer applicable.

One example of a situation that would result in the withdrawal of protection is a transitional payment in respect of Family Allowance. Under the previous system when a child reached the age of  eighteen  Family  Allowance  ended  in  respect  of  that  child.  In  the  same  way  transitional protection is subject to the same rule and is withdrawn when the child reaches the age of eighteen.

10. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING CHANGES IN POLICY ON THE APPLICATION OF THE REGULATION OF UNDERTAKINGS AND DEVELOPMENT (JERSEY) LAW 1973:

Question

Will the Minister inform members of the data relating to the statement made by the Director of Population on the application of the Regulation of Undertakings and Development Law (Jersey) 1973 to the Health, Social Security and Housing Scrutiny Panel on 9th February 2010 that there was a clear change in the number of non local permissions issued in 2009, giving the changes overall and by sector in percentage and real terms to demonstrate the trend over the 5 year period from 2005 to 2009?

Can the Minister confirm whether any changes revealed by such figures result from a change of policy and are not simply a response to changing demand from business?

Answer

The net change in permission on joint staffing licenced for non locally qualified employees is as follows:

Net change in Licences for non  Licences for non locally qualified  % change on previous locally qualified employees during  employees at year end  year

the year

2006  464  7,565  6.5% 2007  798  8,363  10.5% 2008  545  8,908  6.5% 2009  70  8,978  0.8%

The issue of new licences is a matter for the Minister, and the above statistics illustrate a clear change in stance when making decisions, reflecting the present economic climate and the need to support local employment.

At the same time, any specific difficulties businesses may face when recruiting are taken into account alongside a desire to support businesses in difficult trading conditions, and therefore additional permissions are being given as absolutely required.

In doing this, the Population Office, on the Minister's behalf, work closely with the Social Security Department to confirm employers claims that they have advertised and that no suitable local candidates are available. They also maintain good contacts with Highlands, Careers Service, and Jersey Enterprise in seeking to provide a balanced response.

It will be possible to provide the above analysis of licences on a sectoral basis in due course, and this will be considered as part of the production of the 31st December 2010 Manpower Statistics.

These Manpower Statistics will also show the actual number of non locally qualified people engaged in Jersey in total and by sector. In the most recent manpower statistics, for the period to 30th June, 2009, non local employment had decreased by 600, in particular in hotels and retail; while local employment had increased by 200 and j employment by 60. This supports the above picture of a tightening in the application of the Law.

It is also worth noting that the Law is not administered to deprive existing employees of their jobs, or  to  amend  the  terms  of  existing  licences.  The  decision  making  therefore  focuses  on  new applications, and renewals when licences come up for their 3 yearly review.

The Population Office has also produced some sample statistics, which are illustrative as to the latest decisions:

December  December  December 2009  2008  2007

Net change in non local employees permitted on joint staffing  - 5  + 65  + 84 licences in the month

11. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING THE DELIVERY OF AFFORDABLE HOMES:

Question

Will the Minister inform members what options, if any, he has in the short and medium term to achieve the aims of his departmental business plan to deliver affordable homes and to increase owner occupancy in the Island, given that he advised the Health, Social Security and Housing Panel on 9th February 2010 that he had no funds to subsidise  the purchase by ordinary people of affordable homes?

Answer

I am fully aware of the challenges involved in providing affordable housing in the Island, particularly in the current economic climate, which has seen banks being far more restrictive in respect of their lending criteria.

As I have said on previous occasions, I am not in a position where I alone can deliver the new homes which we need.

New homes, particularly new affordable homes require land to be zoned for residential purposes, that is the responsibility of the Planning Minister and is a difficult and complex task. He knows that he will always have my support with this.

I do believe that we have achieved much in recent years. Since 2002 our planning policies have seen the development of 702 social rented homes and 758 first time buyer homes. The States Strategic Plan 2006 – 2011 charged the Housing Department with the introduction of a shared equity or discount scheme, initially using existing Housing Department stock to increase home ownership. The Department did this when it brought forward proposals embodied in P.6/2007. We went further and assisted the Planning & Environment Minister in the development of his Jersey Homebuy Scheme. This made 3 bedroom first time buyer houses valued at £450,000 available to qualifying persons for an average of £260,000, without costing the tax payer a penny in direct subsidy. These two affordable housing schemes created 151 new home owners, the majority of whom would otherwise have been locked into a lifetime of renting. Not only have these homes been sold affordably without a direct subsidy from the tax payer but the legal arrangements surrounding the second charges will eventually see the return of at least £14.3m to the States when all of the homes are sold on or otherwise conveyed.

Records show that a total of 1,090 homes were under construction at the end of 2009 and a further 758 homes had outstanding planning and building permits. The draft Island Plan concentrates on addressing the requirements for new homes in the qualified sector'. In doing so, it makes provision for the supply of 2,550 new homes over the 5 year period 2009 – 2013, comprising 550 Category A and 2,000 Category B homes. The provision is made from a range of sources and relies heavily on opportunities presented by the Waterfront, Town re-generation and private windfall developments elsewhere in existing built up areas.

As impressive as these successes are, there is no room for complacency and my Department is actively engaged in discussions with Planning and other Departments in respect of the provision of more affordable housing in the future.

It is a fact and Christine Whitehead points this out in her report that there are going to be some people for whom renting is a lifelong tenure. Our challenge when developing future affordable housing will be to balance the provision of homes to buy alongside an almost certain need to increase our social rented housing stock, in line with a very different economic and subsequent lending climate.

12. DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE REGARDING THE AWARD OF EDUCATIONAL GRANTS T0 16-19 YEAR OLDS:

Question

Has the educational grant previously awarded to 16 -19 year olds to encourage those from poorer households to stay in post-16 education been absorbed in the adult component of Income Support and is therefore no longer targeted at young people?

Would the Minister indicate what steps, if any, he will take to reintroduce a targeted incentive for this group to remain in education?

Answer

I can confirm that the budget for the education allowance which was given to low income parents who maintained their children in full-time post compulsory education was transferred to Social Security and incorporated into the general arrangements for low income support. It is my understanding that the form and extent of support available is unchanged, despite the fact that it is now available via Social Security rather than Education.

Despite the transfer of this function to the Social Security Department, my Department remains committed to supporting any young person wishing to remain in education beyond compulsory school leaving age and for this reason it provides full-time programmes of study at Hautlieu and Highlands College free of charge.

In view of the above I can confirm that I have no plans to introduce additional financial support via the Department for Education Sport and Culture.

13. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING SEVERENCE BONUS PAYMENTS TO THE FORMER CHIEF OFFICER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES:

Question

Will the Chief Minister clarify whether the recently departed Chief Officer of Health and Social Services received any additional monies/severance bonus payments outside of his contractual entitlement, and, if any such payments were made, did this come from the public purse and what was the total amount?

Would the Chief Minister also clarify whether the former Chief Officer  of Health and Social Services resigned, was invited to resign, was dismissed or left by mutual agreement' in the light of the Verita Report findings?

Answer

Given that the arrangements concerning the resignation of the previous Chief Officer of the Health and Social Services Department were incorporated in a confidential agreement, I am not able to answer these questions. I am able to reassure the Assembly that the Health and Social Services Minister, the Treasury and Resources Minister and I were kept fully informed of how the matter was handled.

14. DEPUTY T. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHAIRMAN OF PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES REGARDING MEMBERS' ATTENDANCE IN THE STATES: Question

Given the fact that the requirement for a Member to attend meetings of the States is set out within the Oath found in Schedule 2 to the States of Jersey Law 2005 and paragraph 2 of the Code of Conduct in Schedule 3 of Standing Orders, will the Chairman advise what disciplinary measures, if any, exist to ensure Members carry out their duties as required?

Would the Chairman advise whether Members leaving the Chamber and indeed the States Building entirely after roll call to pursue non-States matters and to conduct private business is in breach of the above legislation; further still, if none exist will the Committee consider developing disciplinary sanctions to put a stop to this practice?

Answer

First of all, I would like to say that I agree with the sentiments conveyed by this question that not only do all States members have a duty to attend the States meetings at roll call (that is Senators, Deputies and Connétable s), but that they are expected to be present throughout the meeting.

The Oath of Office of the Senators and Deputies in the States of Jersey Law 2005 states "that you will attend the meetings of the States whenever you are called upon to do so". Unlike the States of Jersey Law 1966, which did include the power to impose a small fine at Article 19(1) "Where, by reason of an insufficiency in the number of elected members present at a meeting of the States, the States are unable to conduct their business, the elected members failing to attend the meeting shall each be liable to a fine of one pound " the current Law does not do so. In fact, the 1966 fine was never levied because the quorum never fell below the required level.

There is no penalty within the States of Jersey Law 2005 for absence, but Standing Order 155 states that "An elected member shall at all times comply with the code of conduct set out in Schedule 3." The Code of Conduct then says "Elected members must give due priority to attendance at meetings of the States in accordance with the terms of their oath of office and should be present in the Chamber when the States are meeting unless they have very compelling reasons not to do so." Not to attend a meeting when called upon to do so is therefore in breach of the Code.

The Oath for Senators and Deputies concludes with the statement "All of which you promise to do on your conscience." It therefore makes it clear that it is a matter for the member to fulfil his or her duties as a matter of conscience.

The Oath of Office of the Connétable s, which the Deputy does not mention in his question, is set out in the Code of 1771, and is somewhat different as they have more extensive rôles. Any breach of the Oath of Office of honorary police officers, including the Connétable s, is a matter for the Royal Court and not the States. Nevertheless, the commitment to attend the Assembly is reiterated in the Code of Conduct and absence without compelling reason would also be a breach of the Code. Once again, the Oath of the Connétable s calls upon them to "attend the Assembly of the States when it shall be required of you; and all this and your bounden duty you promise upon your conscience to perform." [translation]

Members' absence from the States during meetings is a continuing concern of the Committee, and indeed the previous Chairman wrote to all members in 2008 in the following terms –

"PPC is concerned that despite the requirement in the Code of Conduct that members should be present in the Chamber when the Assembly is meeting unless they have very compelling reasons to do otherwise, attendance during sittings can, on many occasions, be so low that the States become inquorate. . PPC accepts that members do have legitimate reasons to leave the Assembly during debates to attend to official business and to have normal comfort breaks but PPC must urge all members to be aware of their responsibilities to attend when the States are meeting if at all possible."

From a practical perspective, it is simply impossible for the Committee to monitor absence from the Chamber, and the reasons for those absences, such to establish that a member is not performing his or her duties in a responsible manner. This could involve questioning of members as they leave the Chamber which is both inappropriate and could be insensitive. It must be remembered that the Oath says "that you will attend the meetings of the States whenever you are called upon to do so; and generally that you will fulfil all the duties imposed upon you by virtue of the said office. All of which you promise to do on your conscience." [my italics] It is a judgement call for members how they fulfil all those duties.

The Committee has no plans at present to introduce disciplinary sanctions for absences from the Chamber. The Code has been drafted on the basis that States members are honourable people, and will attend to their duties to the best of their ability on their conscience. The Code does not drill down to the detail of Members' conduct but sets guiding principles. It was never envisaged that the PPC would have the rôle of policeman in this matter, but it is within its rôle to encourage members to attend. I would like to take the opportunity to follow up the advice of my predecessor to request members to attend States meetings as they are required to do, to remain present as much as it is possible for them to do so as to be able to consider carefully the matters before this Assembly, and to be present for votes.

15. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING ALLEGATIONS CONTAINED WITHIN THE SWORN AFFIDAVIT OF THE CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE:

Question

In the light of the serious and detailed allegations against the Chief Executive to the Council of Ministers outlined in the sworn affidavit, signed by the suspended Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, recently released into the public domain by the Deputy of St. Martin , will the Chief Minister clarify why he has not, as a neutral act', suspended the Chief Executive until the allegations of engaging in political activity wholly outside of his remit can be fully investigated?

Answer

I have not suspended the Chief Executive because he has denied categorically the allegations of the suspended Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police. Further, an internal investigation carried out in November 2008, when the suspended Chief Officer first made this allegation, demonstrated that the weight of evidence suggests that his recollection of what happened at the meeting in July 2007 is not accurate.

I should also add that before the allegations were made public, I had already undertaken to commission an independent investigation into all aspects of the suspension process, given the known concerns of some States Members.

16. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING HIS PART IN THE SUSPENSION OF THE CHIEF OFFICER OF THE STATES OF JERSEY POLICE:

Question

Given that he is a central figure within the suspension of the Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, does the Chief Minister consider that he is conflicted in the matter and should therefore declare an interest and withdraw from the debate of the Deputy of St. Martin 's proposition to set up an independent Committee of Inquiry into the suspension and the way that it has been handled (P.9/2010)?

Answer

I was not a central figure in the suspension of the Chief Officer of the States of Jersey Police, either at his initial suspension in November 2008, by the then Minister for Home Affairs, nor at his subsequent confirmed suspension in March 2009 by the present Minister for Home Affairs. I do not, therefore, consider myself conflicted to participate in the debate on P9/2010.

17. DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE NUMBER OF 1(1)(k) RESIDENTS PAYING TAX:

Question

Given that 1(1)(k) classified residents fall into two categories; namely those who were granted residence before current regulations were put in place, and those who have been granted residency since, will the Minister list the number of individuals by year for the period 2005 to 2008 inclusive, who paid tax within the following brackets –

1. less than £20,000;
2. between £20,000 and £50,000;
3. between £50,000 and £70,000; and,
4. between £70,000 and £99,000?

If any 1(1)(k) classified residents do fall into these categories, would the Minister advise how this fits into the framework outlined within the relevant income tax legislation?

Answer

The current regulations to which the Deputy refers are contained in Article 135A of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law, 1961. This Article applies from 1st January 2005 to any person who is given consent under 1(1)( k) housing rules to acquire and occupy property in the Island.

Under this Legislation, those individuals granted 1(1)(k) status are taxed at the following rates:

• The first £1m of foreign income at 20%
• The next £500,000 of foreign income at 10%
• The balance of foreign income at 1%
• All Jersey source income at 20%

Prior to 2005, no Legislation specifically existed to the tax payments by 1(1)(k)'s coming to live in the Island. So any individuals who came to Jersey prior to 1st January 2005 are not subject to the provisions of Article 135A but, instead, to a negotiated tax contribution that still exists in countries such as Switzerland.

1(1)(k)'s may pay all their tax liability personally, or it may be split between their personal liability and that of their companies and / or trusts. The figures below reflect this.

Although not requested by the Deputy , in order to show a true picture of the payment of tax by 1(1)(k)'s included in the statistics are the number of individuals' paying tax in excess of £100,000 annually.

The £13 million in tax paid by these 1(1)(k)'s is a significant sum of money which would need to be raised by other tax measures if not paid by them. It must also be remembered that these 1(1)(k)'s also pay GST, and help the Jersey economy in other ways, such as employing local people, as well as making, in some cases, very significant contributions to local charities.

2005  2006  2007  2008

Payment  No of  Total tax  No of  Total tax  No of  Total tax  No of  Total tax paid  paid   paid  paid

of tax  Taxpayers  Taxpaye Taxpaye Taxpaye

rs  rs  rs

Up to £20,000  27  270,001  35  316,746  32  340,254  32  288,981

£20,000 - £50,000  22  733,804  24  811,407  29  959,764  29  948,589 £50,000 - £70000  9  553,909  8  458,151  5  286,590  10  592,778 £70,000 -£99,000  12  1,021,209  12  985,595  13  1,097,470  7  599,960

£100,000 +  28  6,633,585  31  6,563,658  38  8,343,059  45  11,041,04

9

18. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION, SPORT AND CULTURE REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES:

Question

Can the Minister inform members how many vehicles, if any, are hired annually from Motor Mall by the Education, Sport and Culture Department and the cost per annum?

Answer

The Jersey Fleet Management section of Transport & Technical Services negotiates and manages the  corporate  leasing  of  a  range  of  standard  cars  for  use  by  States  Departments  for  general operational purposes. The contract is awarded every three years following a formal tendering process and was re-awarded to Motor Mall in 2009 to cover the period 2010-2012 inclusive. Through the corporate lease car agreement, the Education, Sport and Culture Department leases three cars via Transport & Technical Services from Motor Mall at an annual cost to the Department of £4,140.

19. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES:

Question

Can the Minister inform members how many vehicles, if any, are hired annually from Motor Mall by the Treasury and Resources Department and the cost per annum?

Answer

The Treasury and Resources Department does not lease any vehicles direct from Motor Mall. The Jersey Fleet Management section of Transport & Technical Services negotiates and manages the corporate leasing of a range of standard cars for use by States Departments for general operational purposes. The contract is awarded every three years following a formal tendering process and was re-awarded to Motor Mall in 2009 to cover the period 2010-2012 inclusive.

Through the corporate lease car agreement, the Treasury and Resources Department leases two cars via Transport & Technical Services from Motor Mall at an annual  cost to the Department of £2,640.

20. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES:

Question

Can the Minister inform members how many vehicles, if any, are hired annually from Motor Mall by the Economic Development Department and the cost per annum?

Answer

The Economic Development Department has no vehicles on hire from Motor Mall.

21. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE CHIEF MINISTER REGARDING THE NUMBER AND ANNUAL COST OF HIRING VEHICLES: Question

Can the Chief Minister inform members how many vehicles, if any, are hired annually from Motor Mall by his department and the cost per annum?

Answer

The Jersey Fleet Management section of Transport & Technical Services negotiates and manages the corporate leasing of a range of standard cars for use by States Departments for general operational purposes. The contract is awarded every three years following a formal tendering process and was re-awarded to Motor Mall in 2009 to cover the period 2010-2012 inclusive.

Through the corporate lease car agreement, the Chief Minister's Department leases three cars via Transport & Technical Services from Motor Mall at a total annual cost to the Department of £4,440.

22. DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR OF THE MINISTER FOR TREASURY AND RESOURCES REGARDING THE ANNUAL STAFF COSTS OF THE CORPORATE PROCUREMENT UNIT:

Question

What are the annual staff costs of the Corporate Procurement Unit? What net savings are anticipated for each of the years 2010-2013? Answer

1. The total annual staff costs for the Corporate Procurement unit are £464,400  
2. The Corporate Procurement unit was given a target of £1.9 million savings to be achieved by the end of the 2009. This target has been achieved. The emphasis going forward is upon assisting Departments in delivering the procurement strategy that is designed to give clear direction to all departments involved in procurement and providing the framework in which they can deliver their own savings targets through procurement initiatives.

The main areas of work are focused upon:-

• Developing an efficient procure to pay process across all States Departments.
• Training employees involved in procurement activity to ensure that there is a standard approach to purchasing goods, services and works.
• Assisting departments in planning and organising their procurement activities in order to manage demand, maximise and leverage spend and deliver their savings targets.

Corporate Procurement will also lead on procurement initiatives arising from the Comprehensive Spending Review programme during 2010 - 2013. Procurement throughout the States is an area where significant savings can be achieved and as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review process specific projects and associated savings will all be aimed at delivering better services to the public.

23. DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING ESTIMATES OF OVERALL HOUSING SUPPLY AND DEMAND:

Question

What statistical sources do the Minister and his Assistant draw upon in making their estimates of overall housing and social housing supply and demand?

Answer

Estimates of housing supply are primarily established using:

• The Department of Planning and Building Services records on housing completions and outstanding commitments which include planning and building permits issued and those sites under construction;
• Other known sites already zoned or earmarked for housing purposes;
• Relevant Housing Department projects and home sales identified in the Property Plan; and
• Other potential future sources of housing identified on proposed in the draft Island Plan, including :

- St. Helier Waterfront;

- Town of St. Helier (informed by the Town Capacity Study); and

- Windfall developments elsewhere (based predominantly on past trends).

On the question of demand, the Housing Department works closely with both the Statistics Unit, Population Office and the Planning Department in the collection of information which contributes to the assessment of the overall need for housing and social housing in the Island. These sources include;

• The Housing Needs Survey - this is undertaken regularly by the Statistics Unit on behalf of the Housing and Planning and Environment Ministers. The latest survey was conducted at the end of 2007. Surveys look to establish housing requirements based on expressed housing aspirations.
• An Island wide census, planned for 2011
• Population projections in the Statistics Unit's 'Population Model' combined with an assessment of potential private household formation. In this instance, each potential future private household is taken as an expression of demand for a home. Such information was used to inform the Council of Ministers in its review of the population issue for Jersey, the latest 'Imagine Jersey' exercise and the current Island Plan review process.

Both of these sources allow for proper account to be taken of the States' strategic decisions regarding the level of controlled future net in-migration.

• States Rental Waiting and Transfer Lists; The Housing Department administers and manages applications for States rental housing, shifts in demand can be quickly identified and trends plotted

Other sources of information on housing demand include:

• Quarterly house price statistics;
• Industry views of the local housing market ;
• The Jersey Annual Social Survey which enables ongoing monitoring of household variables such as size, structure, tenure and occupancy issues

In future, we plan to develop the 'Affordable Housing Gateway' which is a specific objective of Aim 14 of the States Strategic Plan. This gateway will provide a single point of access for all applicants requiring affordable housing and will include all local providers, the Housing Department, Housing Trusts and all of the Parishes. In this way we will have a complete picture of the demand for affordable housing, whether that be homes to rent or homes to buy and we can be confident that all of that need has been means tested on a consistent basis.

24. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING DATA ON CHILD CYCLE-RELATED ACCIDENTS: Question

Given that in 2008 there were 105 children involved in cycle-related accidents recorded in Jersey's Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department, could the Minister provide the Assembly with any data and analysis carried out on these 105 accidents by her Department, the analysis to include the location of the injury, the severity of the injury, where the accident took place, whether or not a helmet was worn at the time and how this fact was established, and the cause of the accident?

Can the Minster also provide members with data and analysis relating to all head and neck injuries suffered in Jersey in 2008, to include, at least, information on the severity of the injuries, and the causes?

In the case of injuries/accidents so serious that the patients require immediate theatre admission how are these identified in the system, and are they included in the figures cited above concerning A&E?

Answer

Cycle-related incidents

A breakdown of information relating to cycle-related incidents is provided in the 2009 Jersey Child Accident Statistics report, compiled by Child Accident Prevention Jersey[1] on the basis of information provided from the A&E Department. The report does not include an analysis of where the accident took place or the cause of the accident, but it does include the following information for 2009:

Type of injury (% of 174 incidents in 2009)

• Upper limb injuries: 32.9%
• Head injuries: 29.5%
• Lower limb injuries: 18.5%

Severity of injury (numbers based on 174 injuries in 2009)

• 28% of children seen in A&E required further follow up treatment of which seven children were admitted to hospital. Of these seven, all the incidents occurred off road.

It is essential to differentiate between road traffic cycling accidents and off road accidents. The information provided does state that 105 children attended A&E as a result of a cycle-related incident, however the greater proportion of these relate to off-road incidents. On average, over a five year period, 18 children a year attend A&E as a result of a road traffic related cycle incident and, of these approximately 32% were wearing a helmet.

Analysis of date relating to head and neck injuries

The Department is unable to provide the other information requested. Current systems are based upon broad classifications. Extracting and analysing data relating to the causes of specific injuries - as opposed to all "head" injuries including those caused by epileptic seizure etc – would incur considerable expense.

25. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES REGARDING OBESITY STATISTICS:

Question

Would the Minister advise the rates of the different categories of obesity by age in Jersey and state whether her Department holds comparative data on other European countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark and France and, if so, state how Jersey compares?

Would the Minister inform members of the additional costs which obesity is likely to place on the health service in the future especially in the care of the elderly, and what action, if any, is she planning to take to tackle this matter?

Answer Comparative data

An estimated 55% of adults in Jersey are overweight (of which 17% are obese) and an estimated 40% of 5 year old children are overweight (of which 12% are obese). Unlike the UK we do not currently hold data on 10 year olds but are exploring ways to collect it in future.

When compared with other countries of the western world, Jersey falls approximately half way between the best and the worst (see Chart 1 below).

Costs

The States Medical Officer of Health has estimated that the cost of obesity and being overweight to Jersey is around £7.4 million, of which approximately £2.2 million is healthcare costs. This is however a conservative estimate. Predictions in the UK suggest that the health care costs associated with obesity will double by 2050 and there is every reason to believe that this trend will also be reflected in Jersey.

More accurate costs should be available over the course of the next three years as Jersey participates in a study being carried by the British Heart Foundation and John Radcliff Hospital in Oxford. The study will include an examination of costs.

Obesity mainly affects children and young to middle aged adults, as opposed to the elderly. It is anticipated than today's younger generation will die younger than their parents did partly as a result of obesity and the increased incidents of diseases associated with being obese or overweight (see Chart 2).

The Health and Social Service Department has produced Health for Life, a five-year strategy which details the action need to address this growing problem. It is essential to understand the obesity is a complex social problem which will not be solved by just through medical interventions or increasing the capacity of the hospital. The focus must be on:

• enabling and supporting people to make healthy choices, which requires cross-departmental effort in areas relating to cycling, exercise, health eating etc;

• prevention rather than cure, which requires greater investment in primarily care monitoring and screening services.

Chart 1.

Greece

Germany

USA

England

Finland

Australia

Ireland

Jersey (adjusted)

Spain

Belgium

Sweden (adjusted)

Netherlands

Austria

Denmark obese

Italy (self report) overweight France (self report)

0 20 40 60 80 100

Percentage of population

Chart 2

Estimated impact of the increasing trend in obesity by 2023

+54% increase in disease

incidence from

1998 baseline

+28%

+18%

+12%

+5%

Stroke Angina Heart Attack Hypertension Type 2

Diabetes

Source: Estimated effect of obesity ( based on straight line extrapolation of trends)

-DH-EOR (unpublished)

Note- projections should be interpreted with caution, as they assume current trends will continue unabated, which may not be realistic

26. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND TECHNICAL SERVICES REGARDING ANNUAL REPORTS AND DATA ON ROAD ACCIDENTS:

Question

Further to the response to my written question of 1st December 2009 –

1. would the Minister explain the increase in accident figures in the 2008 column of the table at the foot of the first page of the answer?
2. what analysis, if any, has been carried out on types and causes of road accidents over the last 5 years and how is this analysis carried out?
3. do annual reports exist for types and causes of road accidents, (or similar non-annual reports) and if so, where can these reports be accessed?
4. can similar reports be found going back 10, 20 and 30 years ago for comparison purposes and, if so, where?
5. has any research been undertaken in Jersey on the effect of such factors as drink-driving laws and street lighting on road accident statistics and, if so, where can these reports be accessed?

Answer

In reply to Deputy Wimberley's question, road traffic collision data is collected and collated by the (Home Affairs Department) Police. The data belongs to the Police. TTS do not hold the gross data but are provided with data which has had certain sensitive fields removed.

1. The data provided in the answer tabled on 1st December 2009 was generated by the Home Affairs Department. The data included a note at the foot of the page which is reproduced below.

"IMPORTANT NOTE : Prior to March 2008, road traffic collision statistics were subject of

a separate paper form submitted by the investigating officer.  In March 2008, road traffic collision data began to be gathered through the VIEWPOINT recording system, which facilitated closer monitoring of the accuracy of records and also eliminated the possibility of paper forms being lost. It is likely that some of the increase shown in 2008 is due to the introduction of more accurate recording processes in States of Jersey Police"

While the contents of this note may explain the increase, there is another possible explanation. Road traffic collisions are defined in the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Road Safety Engineering Manual as "a rare, random, multifactor event always preceded by a situation in which one or more persons have failed to cope with their environment". This statement alludes to a known degree of randomness in collision data due the large number of different parameters involved in road traffic collisions; road condition, time of day, lighting, season, driver perception etc. This randomness can produce clusters of accident data both geographically and in time that are not statistically significant in themselves and are later shown to be a statistical blip' rather than a sustained trend.

At present there is not sufficient data to determine whether this is a statistical blip', a trend, or a change due to the new method of data collection.

2. Over the last five years, as the information is made available, TTS has plotted the road traffic collision data made available to the Department by the Home Affairs Department on to computerised GIS map layers. The accidents are plotted in such a waythat filters in the software allow the Department to view collision events by any of the categories in the database. The principle categories are by slight, serious, fatal, pedestrian, but plotting by, for example cycle, moped, and motorcycle is also possible. On occasion TTS will ask the Police for the original RTC report to better inform the analysis of a particular issue. TTS analyse RTC data when studying various traffic management proposals. The Home Affairs Department carry out their own analysis of the data in a way suited to their operations.
3. The Home Affairs Department publishes, as part of the Chief Officer of Police Annual Report, a summary ofroad traffic collision data. Transport and Technical Services (TTS) publish RTC figures in the Department's section of the Annual Performance Report for the States of Jersey.
4. The data belongs to the Home Affairs Department and this question would be better directed to the Home Affairs Department. It is the industry norm to consider the previous three years RTC data when evaluating traffic or safety improvement schemes. However, TTS tends to use data going back to 2000, as the information is readily accessible in an excel spreadsheet database. Paper records are held in the TTS archives dating back to 1989.
5. Drink driving falls outside of TTS's core expertise of Highways and Traffic Engineering and is a regulatory matter for the Police. TTS has no record of any studies carried out in Jersey into any links between Street lighting and accident rates, though indicative data would be available for UK road network through the research of the Transport Research Laboratory.

27. THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY OF THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING THE VALUE OF THE ISLAND'S AQUACULTURE AND FISHING INDUSTRIES:

Question

Would the Minister inform the Assembly of the value of the aquaculture and fishing industries, in terms of turnover, exports and employment?

Does the Minister collate information relating to the costs to the industry in having shell-fish beds downgraded from one status to a lower one, and, if so, would he provide the information to the Assembly. Would he also outline the reasons such a downgrading can occur?

Would the Minister advise how many times, if any, such downgrading has happened in the last 10 years?

Answer

In 2008, the total value of all fishing and aquaculture industries combined, was £6,744,675 calculated as first hand landed value. Of this approximately £1.3 million was purely Aquaculture. By comparison the Shellfish fishing industry was worth approximately £4 million and the Wet fish (Finfish)  sector  £428,744.  The  remaining  £1  million  in  value  were  UK  landings  by  Jersey registered vessels.

In 2008, just under 1,000 tonnes (955,793 kgs) of shellfish were produced from Aquaculture. Of this, approximately 60% were exported.

The data for 2009 is currently being collated.

Fisheries and Marine Resources do not have information on the number of employees retained by Aquaculture Companies or Fishing vessels.

I am grateful to the Minister for Planning and Environment for the following information:-Grading, also known as area classification, is a public health measure required under EU Food Hygiene legislation. Classification is based on average results of 12 tests, usually carried out at monthly intervals, which detect faecal contamination. The classification informs which method of handling the product is legally required before marketing for human consumption. Area classification for Jersey shellfish harvesting areas is carried out in consultation with the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Weymouth, when results are reviewed annually.

The  reason  for  down  grading  is  test  results  fall  within  a  higher  grade  than  that  previously established.  The  grades  are  A,  B  and  C.  Only  products  from  areas  classed  A,  the  highest classification, can be sold directly for human consumption.

In the period, 9 areas have been downgraded and 8 areas have been upgraded.

The Minister for Economic Development does not currently collate information relating to the costs to the industry in having shell-fish beds downgraded from one status to a lower one, or visa versa, the increase in profits from upgrading shell-fish beds from a lower status to a higher one.

28. THE DEPUTY  OF  ST.  MARY  OF  THE  MINISTER  FOR  ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REGARDING TOURISM BUDGET FIGURES:

Question

Will the Minister provide the Assembly with the following figures relating to the Tourism budget for the last 10 years, adjusted for inflation?

1. marketing spend by year;
2. events spend by year;
3. PR spend by year and by country/region;
4. additional marketing support by year? Answer

The department has details of expenditure dating from 2003. These details are published in the annual reports. We do not have comparative data prior to that.

Notes:

In 2008 following the Historic Child Abuse case the tourism marketing budget was increased by £600,000.

In  2009  following  the  economic  downturn  the  tourism  marketing  budget  was  increased  by £800,000.

Prior to 2009 staff costs were included with the activity cost and Conference Bureau included with research and planning.

29. DEPUTY D.J. DE SOUSA OF ST. HELIER OF THE MINISTER FOR HOUSING REGARDING HOUSING TRUST REGULATIONS:

Question

Can the Minister state why, after over 10 years as President or Minister of Housing, and 4 years after Housing Trust Regulation appeared as an aim in the States Strategic Plan, the States are still waiting for action to be taken on this matter?

Answer

My priorities and those of my Department are set by the States and articulated in the States Strategic Plan. The 2006 – 2011 Strategic Plan did not make specific reference to Housing Trust regulation. What it did task us with was, reviewing, developing and implementing strategies for the provision of Social Housing in the Island, including the long term management of states rental accommodation. The plan also set out a number of high priority tasks for the Department in respect of increasing the level of home ownership and perhaps most crucially putting in place a programme to bring States rental homes up to a decent standard.

The issue of the regulation of Housing Trusts needed to be properly considered in a complete review of social housing provision in the Island as it was clear that any new regulation would have to apply equally to all social landlords. The Department commissioned a Fundamental Review of Social Housing by Professor Christine Whitehead OBE in 2008. The Professor examined and commented on the issue of appropriate regulation in her report. She identified that providing regulation could be costly for such a small jurisdiction as ours and she makes some recommendations about how regulation could be achieved without making it unduly costly and bureaucratic.

I will be bringing forward a Report and Proposition later this year which will deal with the issues raised in Professor Whitehead's report and the feedback that we have received during the consultation process. That Report and Proposition will have to consider the issue of regulation and it will be for members of this Assembly to ultimately decide what form that regulation should take and crucially, how it will be paid for at a time when the pressure on our public finances is so great.

2. Oral Questions

1. Connétable G.F. Butcher of St. John of the Minister for Housing regarding the possible reintroduction of the old States' Loan system:

Would the Minister advise Members what progress, if any, the Housing Department has made investigating the possible reintroduction of the old States loan system to make it fit for purpose for today's needs?

Senator T.J. Le Main (The Minister for Housing):

The Population Office are considering these issues and have been doing so in conjunction with Housing for a number of years and, in doing so, work closely as ever with the Economic Adviser, the Treasury and currently the Housing Department. Of course the initial dangers are evident. In a time of constrained public finances we should exercise extreme caution in adding significantly to public sector spending as this may mean more tax or less money for other services. If we provide subsidised loans and create more demand for housing without adding more supply then Jersey will not only be faced with higher taxes but higher property prices for the majority. This is simple economics. I am therefore not optimistic that a States loan scheme is the answer. You would need at the moment to find a minimum of £100 million for 250 homes and rising up to £200 million if you wanted to provide finance available for up to 500 homes. Therefore, I am not optimistic that a States loan scheme is the answer but I am happy to consider whether there is any merit in further investigation. Indeed, this is currently being done in response to a recent internal audit of the scheme. Overall, however, my focus continues to be on joint working with the Minister for Planning and Environment to support overall housing supply including affordable and social housing within the Island Plan and through such schemes as Jersey Homebuy.

1. Deputy G.P. Southern of St. Helier :

Could the Minister state for Members what alternatives he has to enable affordable housing to be built in Jersey in the light of his statement 10 days ago to the Health, Social Services and Housing Scrutiny Panel that he could no longer build affordable houses for the average person in Jersey?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I cannot build one affordable house. The Deputy very well knows that. I am the Minister for Housing and it is up to this Assembly to support the Minister for Planning and Environment in the forthcoming Island Plan in rezoning suitable land; not open greenfield land, but suitable land that will provide more homes and more opportunities in providing affordable schemes so that young Jersey people can afford housing.

2. Deputy G.P. Southern :

Would the Minister mind answering the question? What alternatives does he have under consideration?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

There are no alternatives currently at the moment apart from the current schemes which are home ownership schemes, shared equity schemes and those kind of issues. The Minister for Planning and Environment has it in his hands to come to this Assembly to rezone more land and to provide opportunities in the planning obligations.

3. Deputy P.J. Rondel of St. John :

I note the Minister's comments about the approximate £100 million or possibly up to £200 million if the scheme was reintroduced. Given that in recent times investments in banks, et cetera, are, if anything, a bit dodgy and giving very little return, would it not be better to invest in our own people thereby giving us a regular return year on year for long periods, 30 years and thereabouts? Does the Minister not agree that this should be looked at?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I cannot agree to anything like that. The question should be directed to the Minister for Treasury and Resources who has a handle on the issues in regard to investments and to investing public monies. My view is that the old States loan scheme would work very well in the early days when people bought homes and borrowed £2,000-£3,000 to buy a home but in this day of the prices of homes rising up to £400,000 I would have thought that the Minister for Treasury and Resources would have some grave concerns about finding hundreds of millions of pounds to set up a scheme.

4. Deputy D.J.A. Wimberley of St. Mary :

Is the Minister also going to pass the parcel on my question, which is what is the Minister doing about the increasing value of land when it is zoned or otherwise acquired for housing?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

The Minister can do nothing about the increased value in land. The Minister is the Minister for Housing and currently predominantly my role at Housing is a social landlord in many aspects. Some of the other aspects have been hived-off. But the issue is quite clear that the only way of reducing the cost for first-time buyers, in my view, is the States to buy-up land and create a land bank and also put into place obligations that reduces the cost of land.

5. The Deputy of St. Mary :

Does the Minister not agree that dealing with this issue would help the problem of providing affordable housing and is that not part of his job?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

As Minister for Housing I have no power under the law to put into place any schemes or otherwise to reduce land costs.

6. Deputy M. Tadier of St. Brelade :

First of all can I just say I agree with the Minister about buying-up land, it is a good socialist policy which I think the Minister should pursue. The question is if the Minister is not willing to accept the idea of the reintroduction of States loans would he be interested in a system of buy as you rent to enable locals to end up owning their own houses or at least have the flexibility?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I did not say I was not interested in returning to the original States loan or otherwise. I have just notified the Assembly that we are currently looking at it, and we have been looking at it over a period of years and it always boils down to the fact that it is a horrendous financial commitment which the States, we are advised, cannot afford at this present time. In fact, over the period of years it has been more beneficial for a home purchaser to have a mortgage through the private sector - through the banks - than it has been with States Loan.

7. Deputy M. Tadier :

I appreciate that clarification on the position of the States Loan. Would the Minister now answer whether he would be in favour of the buy as you rent scheme and how that might work?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I am very happy for any Member to come and talk with us on any scheme such as has been proposed or suggested by the Deputy . I would always have an open door for any suggestions on ways and means where young people can aspire to an affordable home. The answer is yes.

8. Deputy R.C. Duhamel of St. Saviour :

Would the Minister for Housing confirm to the House that he recently set up a new working party which included his own Assistant Minister for Housing, and indeed myself as Assistant Minister for Planning and Environment, to specifically look at affordable housing options in a novel way?

[10:00]

Senator T.J. Le Main:

Yes, I very much welcome that.

The Deputy Bailiff :

Connétable , do you wish one last question? Then do you wish to assign it to Deputy Southern who has been trying to get in for some ..

The Connétable of St. John : Yes. [Laughter]

9. Deputy G.P. Southern :

What a wise man. In the light of the Minister's commitment to introducing regulation of housing trusts and his commitment to providing social rental housing, what measures, 4 years after it appeared in the Strategic Plan - his Strategic Plan - is he going to do this year in order to regulate housings trusts properly?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I cannot see that has anything to do with the question asked by the Constable of St. John .

Deputy G.P. Southern :

The Minister mentioned social rental housing currently provided by the housing trusts; it is a perfectly appropriate question. Will the Minister answer what is he going to do this year about regulating housing trusts which he has not done for the past 4 years?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

Can I reply to the Deputy and say that the question was: "Would the Minister advise Members what progress, if any, the Housing Department has made investigating the possible introduction of the old States loan system and make it fit for purpose for today's needs?" Can I ask the Deputy where this comes in with the question he is now asking?

The Deputy Bailiff :

I rather agree with the Minister, Deputy . We will go on to the next question.

2. The Deputy of St. John of the Chief Minister regarding the estimated cost of the recent emergency exercise at Jersey Airport:

Could Members be told the estimated cost of the recent emergency exercise at the airport? What budget was set aside for it, the number of States of Jersey Police officers involved and the cost of their involvement, whether off-duty States Police officers were called in for the exercise and, if so, how many and what were the overtime costs?

Senator T.A. Le Sueur (The Chief Minister):

The emergency planning section of the Chief Minister's Department holds a small annual budget to support States-wide multi-agency training and exercising. The central costs of this exercise, which covered accommodation, equipment purchase, hire charges, welfare, documentation and so on, was in the order of £4,000. Those organisations and departments participating in the exercise met their costs from within their own budgets. Fifty-seven police officers were engaged in the exercise along with police support staff. While not an additional cost to the department's budget the opportunity cost at the time provided by police officers and police support staff is estimated to be in the region of £20,000. The exercise did not require any off-duty States Police officers being called in to participate in the exercise and no overtime payments were made. This was the largest live exercise the Island has ever undertaken and it provided a valuable opportunity for learning which can only strengthen the Island's response in the unfortunate event of a major emergency in the future.

1. The Deputy of St. John :

I do have some concerns given that we have not really been given a proper breakdown as requested. Given that many Honorary Police were available and, historically, have backed all emergency exercises over many, many years and given considerable time to this Island, when the Chief Minister and his Emergency Planning Officer and committee pulled this exercise together did the Chief Minister not revert to previous exercises which in fact cost closer to £250,000 for this type of exercise, not £25,000 as he has given the figure today. Did he not instruct his Emergency Planning Officer that the Honorary Police officers should be used in the same capacity as the States Police officers?

Senator T.A Le Sueur :

The arrangement for co-ordination between the States of Jersey Police and the Honorary Police was discussed at frequent meetings at which representatives of the Honorary Police were in attendance and a plan was drawn up jointly by these and that plan allowed for and involved the activities of both Honorary Police and States of Jersey Police. The purpose of exercises such as this is to find out what goes right and what goes wrong and to learn from what has gone wrong. Certain matters have gone wrong in this exercise but a lot more went right. But we shall be learning from what went wrong to ensure that in the event of a real emergency we can learn from earlier planning.

2. The Deputy of St. John :

Can the Chief Minister tell the Members what action he has taken to make sure that the Emergency Planning Officer gets proper training in the events of emergency planning and also what action he has taken to inform him that our Honorary Police carry the same weight at the States Police?

Senator T.A Le Sueur :

I resent the implication that the Emergency Planning Officer is untrained. The Emergency Planning Officer has had significant training and is working together to co-ordinate all these activities. I believe that the exercise undertaken, which was the largest exercise undertaken, was a comprehensive and well-planned exercise co-ordinated with the help of many organisations including the Honorary Police. Inevitably in these sorts of operations you learn things and that is the important part of doing them, and while I do accept that there are matters to be learned, I do not believe that the situation is as dire as the Deputy would have us believe.

3. Deputy C.H. Egré of St. Peter :

Would the Chief Minister make available to States Members the lessons learned in order that we can make an objective decision as to whether these exercises are as fruitful as they are being made out to be?

Senator T.A Le Sueur :

The outcome of the exercise was to debrief operations carried out by individuals and collective groups, which will be reported back to the Emergencies Council at their next meeting. The Council will then decide how we can learn from that comprehensive report and to the extent that that needs to be circulated to other people for scrutiny, I would be happy to make that available.

4. The Very Reverend R.F. Key, B.A., The Dean of Jersey:

Will the Chief Minister accept I serve as a member of the Airport Emergency Planning Committee in my role as Chaplain so I was there at all these conversations, and will he accept that the position I take there that the correct working of the honorary and the paid services of the Island, not simply the police but also the Constables of the Parishes, not only are desirable for the future but proved - and in the fire near the end of the airport some time last year - that that marrying of the official and the honorary systems are essential in the outworking of an emergency? [Approbation]

Senator T.A Le Sueur :

Absolutely, I pay tribute to the services provided by the Honorary Police of St. Peter and other Parishes in that fire incident, and indeed for the participation that they gave in this particular emergency exercise. It is a matter of record that the Honorary Police and the States of Jersey Police both have a part to play in this. They are both equally valued and equally important and I want to make sure, in particular, that in the event of a real emergency, as happened in that fire situation, all resources are used to their best advantage and that is why we have these exercises, as I say, to learn from them what can go wrong and how they can be improved upon.

5. The Deputy of St. John :

Could the Chief Minister inform the Members of the qualifications of the E.P.O. (Emergency Planning Officer) that he holds, please?

Senator T.A Le Sueur :

I do not have the professional qualifications to hand because they are not part of the original question, but certainly the Planning Officer has had experience here and in the mainland of previous emergency activities and I believe his qualifications, both in experience and any paper qualifications, are as good as one can expect on this Island and what was done in this emergency exercise was, I believe, a significant improvement on anything we have done in the past. It is far more comprehensive than anything we have done in the past and I believe that far from being critical, we owe a debt of gratitude to the Emergency Planning Officer for the way in which this has been properly co-ordinated.

3. Deputy D.J. De Sousa of the Minister for Housing regarding steps proposed to secure sites for housing:

Following his recent comments at a scrutiny hearing, will the Minister please inform Members what steps, if any, he proposes to take to eliminate a bidding war with the housing trusts to secure sites for future housing, as in sheltered housing or social?

Senator T.J. Le Main (The Minister for Housing):

I can advise Members that I have already taken steps to eliminate this problem. I have written to all the housing trusts and the Connétable s setting out that I will not support the acquisition of any social rented home by any social housing provider where the price being paid for the unit exceeds that which the current debt redemption model demonstrates is sustainable. I am also currently in discussions with the Attorney General seeking legal advice on ways and means of being able to firm-up the opportunities for the Housing Department to acquiring rezoned sites for sheltered housing. I have sent also a copy of my letter to the chairman of the Scrutiny Panel for their information.

1. Deputy D.J. De Sousa:

Does the Minister really feel that this is sufficient to stop such a price war going on to inflate the price of land for building social housing on?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I think that when I mentioned that there was an issue, it could have been an issue; it may not be but I have been worried over one or 2 instances over this and I am confident that the Housing Department will be able to work with the social housing providers. I am rather hopeful that we are going to be able to make sure that the acquisition of homes off rezoned sites will in fact be given where the Housing Department will have a very good opportunity of being able to acquire those that they need urgently. We are the last provider for many people.

The Deputy Bailiff :

Can I encourage Ministers to be concise in their answers.

2. Deputy G.P. Southern :

Would the Minister inform Members what instances he is referring to when he said there one or 2 instances that have already occurred which gave rise to his doubt?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

No, I am not prepared to openly discuss that. All I am saying is that I had one or 2 issues that I was not very happy with and felt that it could have been that the Housing Department would have been left out in the cold had these opportunities been taken up by other social housing providers.

3. Deputy G.P. Southern :

Could the Minister state why he is reluctant to speak about this and will he release his information in confidence to the Health, Social Services and Housing Panel?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I am never frightened to speak about anything but there are times when you are in discussions with individuals or trusts or otherwise that one just does not want to broadcast it all over the media. I have got further discussions to take place and I am not prepared to invite discussion over the media with it.

4. Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier :

Would the Minister not agree that this goes back to what Deputy Southern was asking earlier? Housing trusts have been allowed to grow, backed by lots of money by the States, and the Minister has been very, very lax in putting any rules and regulations in, and now they have come back to bite him.

Senator T.J. Le Main:

No, that is not true. Every site that has had a letter of comfort from the Treasury supported by the Minister for Housing have full regulation against that site. It is quite clear that there is nothing untoward happening in the current regulation of the trusts. But what we have been waiting for, and the Deputy knows this very well, we have been waiting for the Whitehead report. We have been waiting for the low income scheme to go into place. I will be coming up this year to this Assembly with recommendations not only on the regulation of housing trusts - regulation of social housing providers - and Members will have a good opportunity then to make amendments to what will be coming forward from the Housing Department.

5. Deputy J.A. Martin:

In the Whitehead report it says: "All social landlords should have one unified waiting list." How far down the line are we with this one unified waiting list?

[10:15]

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I totally agree with that, but the Member very well knows that the issue is that we are coming back through the Whitehead report, once full consultation is finished on 5th March, I think we have extended it to, and we are going to come forward and I totally support that view that there should be a common waiting list and common waiting lists should have happened years ago, but the issue is that we will be coming forward with that sort of recommendation, I am sure.

6. The Deputy of St. Mary :

Does the Minister not agree that the background to the problem outlined in the question of the bidding war and the shortage of sites, the background is of course the policy of the Council of Ministers to increase the population year on year for ever and does he not agree there will, therefore, always be a shortage and does he enjoy his keep fit programme of running on a treadmill?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

No, I do not agree with that at all. The Deputy knows very well that the increase in population has been births over deaths and the issue is that this Island since 1949 has had a chronic shortage of affordable housing, particularly with a changing population with more divorces, more single people with children, and all those issues. Of course, when you have families split-up and they have joint custody now where it seems that both sides, one with 3 days full custody, the other one with 4 days custody, each of them demanding a family home, all these kind of pressures are the pressures that have built up and have been building up over the years.

7. Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire of St. Helier :

This evening Deputies from No. 1 district will be attending upon residents of Berkshire Court to address what has been a never-ending saga of complaints. They have met with no response from the Jersey Homes Trust. This has been going on for 5 years. Will the Minister attend with us this evening to see how futile it is in trying to get basic recommendations through a housing trust that refuses to do anything, unlike the very good housing trusts that exist elsewhere?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

I have had no complaints about Berkshire Court, I have to say. I have had no complaints. I have not had one complaint about Berkshire Court and I have not been invited to the meeting this evening and I do not feel at this time that the Minister for Housing should be involved with the Deputies and the arguments with the trust at the present time. I will, if necessary, once they have had their deliberations and discussions, certainly attend to the Deputies if they require me.

8. Deputy M.R. Higgins of St. Helier :

The Minister evaded answering the second part of Deputy Southern 's question earlier about whether he would share the information that he is not prepared to reveal to the Chamber and to the media. Would he give that information to the Scrutiny Panel in confidence?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

No, not at the moment. The issue is quite clear that I have sought and am seeking advice from the Attorney General on various aspects of what could happen to affordable land or rezoned sites. I have also sent out a note and once I have the information then of course I am very happy to share it with the Scrutiny Panel. The Scrutiny Panel is there to assist me and I will do so, but the time is not quite right at the present time.

9. The Connétable of St. John :

The Minister clearly wants a common waiting list for various social housing. Could the Minister advise the Assembly as to how he would envisage the allocation process to go forward given that Parishes look after their own properties?

Senator T.J. Le Main:

The issue is that the allocation process would not involve the Parishes who own their own properties. It is as simple as that. Pre-1975 was the last issue on providing homes within the Parishes by the Connétable s, and such as St. Martin and Trinity and issues like that, that they have their existing stock, the States would not want to be involved in the allocation.

10. Deputy D.J. De Sousa:

Does the Minister not consider that it is the lack of regulation upon the housing trusts that has caused him to worry about this matter?

Senator T.J. Le Main: The answer to that is no.

4. Deputy K.C. Lewis of St. Saviour of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the withdrawal of the peritoneal dialysis service:

Would the Minister inform Members whether the peritoneal dialysis service is to be withdrawn and if so what steps, if any, will the Minister be taking to address the concerns about failing staff levels and morale of the entire Renal Dialysis Unit?

Deputy J.A. Martin (Assistant Minister for Health and Social Services - rapporteur):

I can confirm that there is no intention to withdraw the peritoneal dialysis service and I can confirm that all the existing patients have been contacted and reassured of this. At this present time, though, the Renal Service is unable to offer peritoneal dialysis to new patients due to staff shortage and the specialty of this treatment.

1. Deputy K.C. Lewis :

I have had many phone calls; people very, very emotional, not just patients but also the medical staff at the hospital. As one member of staff leaves it puts immense pressure on those that remain. Will the Assistant Minister undertake to recruit suitable staff as soon as possible?

Deputy J.A. Martin:

Yes, we also at the hospital have had some very concerned patients when this question went in. The Minister and myself met with the renal consultant and the head nurse and all the staff on the ward late on Friday afternoon. We have committed to get as much support into this department as we can. We are very sorry that this message has got out and the wrong message has got out to the people and the patients that they care very much for.

2. Deputy K.C. Lewis :

I would not say it is the wrong message. I have been informed that people whose kidneys are failing will be coming on to peritoneal dialysis which will no longer be available to new patients. Unless one is lucky enough to receive a kidney transplant, dialysis is not a temporary problem. Will the Assistant Minister undertake to locate and recruit suitably qualified staff as a matter of urgency?

Deputy J.A. Martin:

There is a shortage of this specialism across the U.K. (United Kingdom), which I was informed of by the consultant himself on Friday afternoon. Peritoneal treatment is self-medication and you have to be taught. We dialysise 50 patients at the hospital and an extra 6 or 7 who have the peritoneal. It is a great treatment for people who have the confidence but there must be the backup at the hospital and that is why, at the moment, we cannot put new patients on peritoneal. There is no question that anybody needing dialysis urgently or ongoing will not be offered the dialysis they need at the hospital to sustain them until we can get a kidney transplant or whatever they will need.

3. Deputy J.B. Fox of St. Helier :

I was involved in the very early days with kidney dialysis with a fellow policeman who required it and also the backup services, and we have moved on a tremendous amount. This is very disturbing for a number of reasons. What I would like to ask the Assistant Minister is how temporary is this setback, and can she give us a definite indication of dates - whether it is weeks or months away - as this not only affects the individual themselves, it also affects their work and the services that are provided to this Island. It is a vital service and, therefore, it is an important one that needs answering at this moment in time.

Deputy J.A. Martin:

I totally agree and on speaking with the consultant, he is absolutely determined to get the service up and running as we are at the hospital with the staff as soon as possible, and I hope it is a matter of weeks and nowhere near months that we will be able to do this. I say it needs the confidence of the patient with the backup at the hospital and it sounds very easy but it is something that is self- medicating 24/7. They have to change bags every 6 hours and some people are not confident to do it, especially without the right backup at the hospital.

4. Deputy G.P. Southern :

Could the Assistant Minister indicate what measures, in particular with dealing with the high price of accommodation in Jersey, are in place to ensure good recruitment and retention of nurses with the required skill for this Island to deliver a first class service?

Deputy J.A. Martin:

Obviously Jersey about 10 years ago with the scale rates of pay and everything else used to be an attractive place to come. With all the ups and the shenanigans in the N.H.S. (National Health Service) and the things that nurses are offered, we are no longer attractive. We are looking at health. The other Assistant Minister is looking at ways to purchase some new accommodation for staff that come over, but this is going to be a long process - as the Minister for Housing says, it is not cheap to live in Jersey - and nurses are even harder to recruit because of this reason.

The Deputy Bailiff :

Can I remind Members the questions are about dialysis and not general questions about nursing staff.

5. Deputy G.P. Southern :

But having got in on this one I will pursue it. Will the Assistant Minister agree to circulate to Members what proposals are in place to assist incoming nurses with their housing need?

Deputy J.A. Martin:

Yes, it is either now finished or it is definitely being worked on and as soon as we have the paper and what we are proposing to do for all specialisms in the nursing sector I will get it circulated to all Members.

6. Deputy D.J. De Sousa:

Speaking to the Assistant Minister earlier, I believe that the problem here is an issue with trained staff to train patients to self-medicate. What measures, therefore, is the department taking to engage the necessary professionals to ensure that this vital service is reinstated as soon as possible?

Deputy J.A. Martin:

As I said in an answer to Deputy Fox, we know of one nurse who is on a different ward at the moment who could possibly transfer as soon as we have a vacancy. At the moment we have a vacancy but staff are still in the job. So, as I said, hopefully it will be a matter of weeks and the peritoneal service will be up and running again.

7. Deputy J.M. Maçon of St. Saviour :