States Minutes 25th October 1983

THE STATES assembled on Tuesday, 25th October, 1983 at 10.15 a.m. under the Presidency of the Deputy Bailiff , Peter Leslie Crill, Esquire, C.B.E.

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All members were present with the exception of –

Senator John Le Marquand – out of the Island. Senator Pierre François Horsfall – out of the Island. Senator John William Ellis – out of the Island. Senator Anne Baal – out of the Island.

Senator John Stephen Rothwell – out of the Island.

William John Morvan, Connétable of St. Lawrence – out of the Island.

John Le Gallais, Deputy of St. Saviour – out of the Island.

Donald  George  Filleul,   Deputy  of   St. Helier –  out  of  the Island.

Michael Walter Bonn, Deputy of St. Peter – out of the Island. John Philip Farley, Deputy of St. Helier – out of the Island.

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Prayers. _____

Capital  Expenditure  1984–1986:  Schedule  of  Schemes submitted by Committees.

The Finance and Economics Committee by Act dated 21st September,  1983,  presented  to  the  States  a  Report  on  Capital Expenditure  1984–1986:  Schedule  of  Schemes  submitted  by Committees.

THE  STATES  ordered  the  said  Report  to  be  printed  and distributed.

277   Price : 50p.

Matters noted – land transactions.

THE STATES noted an Act of the Finance and Economics Committee dated 19th October, 1983, showing that in pursuance of Standing Orders relating to certain transactions in land, the Committee had approved –

1. as recommended by the Tourism Committee, the leasing to Mrs. Bridget Carré, née Kelly, of the site of Colleen's Café, Grève de Lecq, St. Ouen , for the period of three years with effect from 25th December, 1983 at an annual rent of £700;
2. as recommended by the Public Works Committee, the leasing from Mr. Ronald Shakespeare Durtnall of the house known as Belvedere, Green Street, St. Helier , for the period of six months commencing 1st August, 1983, and ending 31st January 1984, at a weekly rent of £65;
3. as recommended by the Housing Committee, with the support of the Island Development Committee, the purchase from Mr. Maurice Edwin Horsburgh of 12, Duhamel Place, St. Helier , which was suitable for conversion into two one-bedroomed flats and one three-bedroomed flat, which would be used for rental accommodation, for a consideration of £52,000 for the realty on the basis of each party paying its own legal fees;
4. as recommended by the Housing Committee, the passing of a Contrat de Transaction with Mr. Peter George Wakeham to determine the northern, western and southern boundaries of his property, Maison des Pres, Rue des Pres, St. Saviour , towards the Bashfords Nurseries Development site and also the cession of a small area of land bordering site number 76 at Bashfords Nurseries approximately 2 feet 3 inches wide by 51 feet 4 inches long to Mr. Wakeham, the Committee to be responsible for legal costs.

Matters noted – financial transactions.

THE STATES noted Acts of the Finance and Economics Committee dated 19th October, 1983, showing that in pursuance of Rule 5 of the Public Finances (General) (Jersey) Rules, 1967, as amended, the Committee had noted that –

1. the Resources Recovery Board had accepted the lowest of three tenders, namely that submitted by Inter Island Construction Limited in the sum of £30,486.86 in a contract period of 5 weeks for improvements to surface water drainage in connexion with the Georgetown Flood Relief Scheme;
2. the Resources Recovery Board had accepted the lowest of five tenders, namely that submitted by J.F. Marett & Son Limited in the sum of £46,700.00 for the redevelopment of the old waste sorting shed at La Collette Reclamation site as an Animal Wastes Freezing Plant.

Matters lodged.

The following subjects were lodged "au Greffe" –

1. 48/50 St. Mark's Road, St. Helier – approval of drawings. P.139/83.

Presented by the Housing Committee. The States decided to take this subject into consideration on 15th November, 1983.

2. "Brookhall", Field 845, St. Saviour – rezoning of land for residential development. P.140/83. Presented by the Island Development Committee.
3. States Rental Accommodation: sale to tenants. P.141/83.

Presented by Senator Richard Joseph Shenton.

The States decided to take this subject into consideration on 15th November, 1983.

Draft Motor Traffic (Amendment No. 14) (Jersey) Law, 198 . P.139/83 – Deferment of Debate.

THE STATES acceded to the request of Senator Richard Joseph Shenton, Vice-President of the Defence Committee, that consideration of the Draft Motor Traffic (Amendment No. 14) (Jersey) Law, 198 (P.139/83 – lodged on 11th October, 1983) be deferred from today's Sitting to a later date.

Establishment Committee: Vote of no confidence. P.138/83.

THE STATES acceded to the request of Senator Jane Patricia Sandeman that the Proposition with regard to the Establishment Committee: Vote of no confidence (P.138/83 – lodged on 11th October, 1983) be considered on 15th November, 1983.

Recording of States' Meetings. P.97/83.

THE STATES acceded to the request of Deputy Robin Ernest Richard Rumboll of St. Helier that the Proposition regarding the Recording of States' Meetings (P.97/83 – lodged on 21st June, 1983) be considered on 13th December, 1983.

Appointment of the Airport Commandant. Questions and answers.

Deputy Terence John Le Main of St. Helier asked Senator John Clark Averty, President of the Establishment Committee, the following questions –

"1. What steps did the Establishment Committee take,

immediately after the present Director of Ports, Mr. Brian Mellor, announced in March, 1979, that he was going to retire in 1984, to train an existing member of the Civil Service to replace him?

2. Is the President of the Establishment Committee aware that at the time Mr. Mellor made his intentions known to the Harbours and Airport Committee, that Committee expressed the view that members of the Airport's senior management were capable of doing the job?

3. Can the President of the Establishment Committee give this House an assurance that in future, when senior civil servants have the courtesy to follow the excellent example shown by Mr. Mellor – an example which everyone must acknowledge, was in the best interests of this Island – and give a sufficient period of notice to enable a successor to be trained from within the Civil Service, his Committee will take advantage of that offer?
4. Did the Committee establish whether or not the new Airport Commandant intended to return to Jersey after his Army service had ended before it appointed him?
5. Can the President confirm that the new Airport Commandant's terms and conditions of service include membership of the Public Employees Contributory Retirement Pension Scheme?
6. If the answer to question 5 is yes, can the President confirm that this means that the appointee will, if he works until he is 65, receive a pension of about 26/60 of the average salary during the last three years of his service and that, even if the salary does not increase during that period of time, this will mean that he will draw a pension in excess of £10,000 a year – in addition to the Army retirement pension he will be drawing when he takes up the appointment?"

The President of the Establishment Committee replied as follows –

"1.- The Establishment Committee in 1980 decided that

3. it would be wrong to choose a successor to a senior post four years in advance. The period of training would have been too long. It would have become much more difficult to promote an officer in a Grade AII post to one of the rare AI vacancies, something that would in the event have happened if an officer had not declined the opportunity offered

to him. We would have lost the chance to reorganise the senior posts under the Harbours and Airport Committee, a possibility known at the time to exist. There are in the Civil Service officers capable of occupying the new post of Airport Commandant, but the position has been offered to the person regarded by the Selection Board as the best fitted of the locally qualified applicants. The Establishment Committee recognise the need for promotions within the Civil Service and, as the States are well aware, has put in hand an examination of our methods of succession planning; but it would not be right to create a feeling that the Civil Service had a monopoly of senior posts without competition from outside the Service.

4. The Board to select a new Airport Commandant saw only candidates with a Jersey housing qualification, those not resident in the Island at the time volunteered at the interview that they intended to return here.
5. Yes, as is required by law in all cases.
6. On the assumptions made and on present rules, yes. The officer in question, like others, will receive the pension he has earned according to the normal rules, and to which he has contributed."

Police patrols. Questions and answers.

Deputy Ronald Winter Blampied of St. Helier asked Senator Richard Joseph Shenton, Vice-President of the Defence Committee, the following questions –

"Will the Vice-President of the Defence Committee please inform the States –

1. Of the average number of Police personnel on foot patrol that cover the whole of St. Helier between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.;

2. The number of patrol cars and the number of patrol motor-cycles at any one time that are on patrol to cover the whole Island between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m."

The Vice-President of the Defence Committee replied as follows –

"1. The average figure is approximately 6.7 Police

personnel.

2.  2 cars and 1 van between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

2 cars and 2 motor-cycles between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.;

1 car between the hours of 7 p.m. and 3 a.m." Appointment of Commissioner of Appeal for Income Tax.

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Finance and Economics Committee, approved the appointment as a Commissioner of Appeal for Income Tax for the period ending 31st December, 1985, of Harry Wookey Hall , Esq., to replace Sir William Haley, K.C.M.G., who has resigned.

Disposal of Industrial Sites at La Collette.

THE STATES commenced consideration of a Proposition of the Island Development Committee regarding the disposal of Industrial Sites at La Collette. After discussion, and on the proposition of Senator Richard Joseph Shenton, the Proposition was lodged "au Greffe".

THE STATES decided to take this subject into consideration on 6th December, 1983.

Computer Development: transfer of funds.

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Finance and Economics Committee, agreed that, where a computer project of a Committee has been approved by the Establishment Committee, the Finance and Economics Committee, having approved the allocation of the sum of money necessary to finance that project, should be authorised to transfer such sum out of the Vote of Credit 0626 "Provision for Computer Development – All Committees" to a specially designated revenue or capital vote of credit of the Committee concerned.

Road Traffic (No. 27) (Jersey) Regulations, 1983.

THE STATES, in pursuance of the powers conferred on them by Order in Council of the twenty-sixth day of December, 1851, and Article 49 of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law, 1956, as amended, made Regulations entitled Road Traffic (No. 27) (Jersey) Regulations, 1983.

Maintenance of States Dwellings: transfer of funds.

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Housing Committee, approved the transfer of £100,000 from the Capital Vote of Credit granted to the Housing Committee under the heading "Building, Purchase and Rehabilitation of Dwellings" (C.1103) to the Revenue Vote under the heading "Maintenance of States Dwellings" (R.5412) to meet increased costs within that vote.

THE STATES rose at 11.15 a.m.

E.J.M. POTTER, Greffier of the States.