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STATES MINUTES 1 0 t h October, 1989
THE STATES assembled on Tuesday, 10th October, 1989 at 10.15 a.m. under t he Presidency of the Bailiff ,
S i r Peter Crill, C.B.E.
_ _ _ _ _ _______
All Members were present with the exception of -
S enator Richard Joseph Shenton - out
o f the Island.
S enator Bernard Thomas Binnington -
o ut of the Island.
S enator Betty Brooke - out of the
I sland.
S enator Corrie Stein - out of the
I sland.
L eonard René Hamel, Connétable of St. C lement - ill.
E dwin Le Gresley Godel, Connétable of S t. Mary - out of the Island.
S nowdon George Robins, Connétable of S t. Saviour - absent.
D avid John de la Haye, Deputy of St.
H elier - out of the Island.
M argaret Sylvia Rose Beadle, Deputy of S t. Brelade - out of the Island.
M ichael Adam Wavell, Deputy of St.
H elier - out of the Island.
R onald Winter Blampied, Deputy of St. H elier - out of the Island.
G raeme Ernest Rabet, Deputy of St.
H elier - out of the Island.
_ _ _ _ _ _______
P r a y e rs
_ _ _ _ _ _______
Declaration of State of Emergency.
The Bailiff informed the House
that the Lieutenant Governor had issued the
following Declaration -
DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY
W HEREAS the Emergency Powers (Jersey) L aw, 1964, enacts that if it appears
t o the Lieutenant-Governor that there
h ave occurred, or are about to occur,
e vents of such a nature as to be
c alculated, by interfering with either
t he supply and distribution of food,
w ater, fuel or light, or with the
m eans of locomotion, to deprive the
C ommunity or any substantial
p roportion of the Community, of the
e ssentials of life, the Lieutenant-
G overnor may declare that a state of
e mergency exists;
A ND WHEREAS it appears to me that the p resent water shortage has created an
E mergency within the meaning of the
s aid Law;
N OW therefore, in pursuance of the s aid Law, I hereby declare a state of e mergency exists.
D ated this ninth day of October, One
t housand nine hundred and eighty-nine.
W . P ILLAR
Lieutenant-Governor of Jersey''.
Subordinate legislation tabled.
The following enactments were laid before the States, namely -
1 . Post Office (General Provisions)
( A m endment No. 28) (Jersey) Order, 1 9 8 9. R & O 7977.
2 . Post Office (Foreign Post
P r o visions) (Amendment No. 16) ( J er sey) Order, 1989. R & O 7978.
3 . Motor Vehicles (Construction and U se ) (Amendment No. 22) (Jersey) O rd er, 1989. R & O 7979.
4. Road Traffic (Public Parking P l a ces) (Amendment No. 11)
( J er sey) Order, 1989. R & O 7980.
5 . Civil Service Administration
( S a laries) (Amendment No. 9)
( J er sey) Order, 1989. R & O 7981.
6 . Emergency Powers (Control of W a ter) (No. 2) (Jersey) Order, 1 9 8 9. R & O 7982.
Matters lodged.
The following subject was lodged au Greffe'' -
A nnulment of Employment of Children ( General Provisions) (Jersey) Order,
1 989. P.135/89.
P resented by Senator John Stephen
R othwell. The States decided to take
t his subject into consideration on
2 1st November, 1989.
The following subjects were lodged au Greffe'' on 3rd October, 1989 -
1 . Draft Torture (Jersey) Law, 19 . P . 1 31/89.
P r e sented by the Legislation
C o m mittee. The States decided to t a ke this subject into
c o n sideration on 17th October,
1 9 8 9.
2 . States Members: payment. P.132/89. P r e sented by Deputy M.C. Buesnel
o f S t. Helier and referred to the
H o use Committee.
3 . Draft Firearms (Amendment)
( J er sey) Law, 19 . P.133/89.
P r e sented by the Defence
C o m mittee. The States decided to t a ke this subject into
c o n sideration on 17th October,
1 9 8 9.
Draft Probate (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 19 . P.128/89.
THE STATES acceded to the request
of the President of the Legislation Committee that the draft Probate (Amendment) (Jersey) Law, 19 (lodged on 26th September, 1989) be considered on 17th October, 1989.
Draft Road Traffic (No. 34)
(Jersey) Regulations, 19 . P.129/89.
THE STATES acceded to the request of the Vice-President of the Defence Committee that the draft Road Traffic (No. 34) (Jersey) Regulations, 19 (lodged on 26th September, 1989) be considered on 31st October, 1989.
Harbours and Airport concessions. Questions and answers.
Senator Terence John Le Main asked
Deputy Leonard Norman of St. Clement, Vice- President of the Harbours and Airport Committee, the following questions -
Q uestion 1
Can the President tell the House how m any concessions his Committee has g ranted at the Airport and at St.
H elier Harbour?''
The Vice-President of the Harbours and Airport Committee replied as follows -
At present there are 13 concessions g ranted at Jersey Airport and four at S t. Helier Harbour.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 2
Can the President tell the House
what these concessions are and who are t he beneficial owners?''
Vice-President, Harbours and Airport Committee
The concessions are as follows - A irport
C ar hire concession - (1) La Motte Gara g es Ltd.
C ar hire concession - (2) Abbey Rent-a- C ar (1980) Ltd.
P hotograph concession Mr. E. Weston
t ra d i n g a s
P h o t o -M e S tu d i o
A dvertising concession Primesight Poste r s Ltd.
F lower shop concession Jersey Farmers U
n ion
B ureau de change concession The House o
f Bellingham Ltd.
R estaurant, bars, buffet and Airport Ca
t ering Services
o f f-sales shop concession (C.I.) Lt
d .
I nflight catering concession Airport Ca
t ering Services (C.I.) Ltd.
P erfume, tobacco, confectionery Travell
e rs Retail Services
a n d sundries shops Ltd.
R amp handling concession Servisair Ltd.
P assenger handling concession Servisair
L td.
W hat's On magazine concession T. Anson
a nd Company Ltd.
A musement machines concession Anglomati c s (Jersey) Ltd.
H arbour
B ureau de change A rgosy Finance
L t d .
C afé, restaurant and bar
( E lizabeth Harbour terminal) Ro-Ro Lt
d .
A musement machines (Elizabeth Anglomati c s Ltd.
H a rbour terminal)
C ar hire concession Southern Autos
L t d .' '
S upplementary question and answer.
S enator Le Main - Is it correct to
s ay that the Airport Catering Services
( C.I.) Limited and Travellers Retail
S ervices Limited are owned by the same c ompany or the same people?''
V ice-President, Harbours and Airport
C ommittee - I believe but I could not
s ay absolutely categorically that they
a re subsidiary companies of Trust House F orte.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 3
Can the President give the House
d etails of how much rental or income i s received by the Committee from each c oncession and what are the names of
t he concessionaires?''
Vice-President, Harbours and Airport Committee
The names of the concessionaires are i n the answer to Question 2. I do not
p ropose to give details of the income
o f each individual concession as they
a re commercial in confidence to my
C ommittee. Members will appreciate
t hat public disclosure of this
i nformation could prejudice my
C ommittee's ability to obtain the best
c ommercial return. If any member has a g enuine reason and wishes to know
d etails of any individual concession,
I will consider disclosing this
p rivately and in confidence. However,
t he total income for Jersey Airport in
1 988 was #785,900 and St. Helier
H arbour was #23,300.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 4
Can the President inform the House
w hen these agreements are due for
r enewal and what arrangements will be m ade for the renewal or
r eadvertisement of the concessions?''
Vice-President, Harbours and Airport Committee
Airport
C ar hire concession - (1) 31st December
, 1991
C ar hire concession - (2) 31st December
, 1991
P hotograph concession 31st January,
1 9 9 0
A dvertising concession 28th February, 1
9 91
F lower shop concession 31st December, 1 9 93
B ureau de change concession 1st January , 1991
R estaurant, bars, buffet and
o f f-sales shop concession 6th Septemb
e r, 1995
I nflight catering concession 6th Septem
b er, 1995
P erfume, tobacco, confectionery
a n d sundries shops 6th September,
1 9 9 5
R amp handling concession 31st December, 1 991
P assenger handling concession 31st Dece
m ber, 1991
W hat's On magazine concession 31st Dece m ber, 1991
A musement machines concession 31st Janu a ry, 1991
H arbour
B ureau de change D ecember, 1994 C afé, restaurant and bar
( E lizabeth Harbour terminal) June, 19 9 8
A musement machines (Elizabeth
H a rbour terminal) August, 1990
C are hire concession December, 1989
M y Committee's policy is to invite t enders where and when appropriate n ormally in the Jersey Gazette 2-3 m onths ahead of the expiry date.''
S upplementary questions and answers.
S enator J.S. Rothwell - Whilst one
a ccepts that the Committee wishes to
o btain on behalf of the taxpayer the
b est commercial return it can from the c oncessions there is a question of
c redibility that arises quite often in
r elation to the retail sales of drink
a t the Airport in that criticisms occur
o ver the pricing policy at the Airport. D eparting visitors both local people,
s urprisingly, and visitors are quite
s hocked to see that the prices charged
t here in certain circumstances are much h igher than those prevailing in the
r est of the Island. I understand the
d ifficulty might be that the purchasing p olicy of the concessionaire company
t hat perhaps would the Vice-President c onsider when looking at the renewal
d ates and inviting tenders he would
b ear this in mind that an outside c ompany, which I understand is Trust H ouse Forte in this case, sets up and
h as difficulty in purchasing at the
p roper price without importing their
o wn for all sorts of strange reasons,
w ould they bear this in mind it could h ave a detrimental effect on our
r eputation when departing visitors find t hat they have to pay more than they
t hought they should?''
V ice-President, Harbours and Airport C ommittee - Yes, obviously we take n ote of what the Senator says but of
c ourse I am sure that he realises that
i t is not because of the purchasing
p olicy of the concessionaire but of the p urchasing ability because of various
a gency arrangements within the Island. O bviously from the tourism point of
v iew the most attractive thing at
J ersey Airport would be a duty free
s hop, but at the moment that is not
u nder consideration.''
D eputy H.H. Baudains - I wonder if
t he Vice-President of the Harbours and
A irport Committee would agree that the v ery nature of a concession, because
t he rental is not a rental, it is a
p roportion of the sale price, means
t hat nobody can operate on a low
m argin. I speak with a little
e xperience on this because I was partly
i nvolved in running the Farmers' Union
o ne and the example there was we could n ot sell milk at the recommended price
b ecause the concession we had to pay to
t he Airport was greater than the
a llowance allowed by the Milk Marketing B oard. Would he agree that this
p ossibly is why drinks and other things
a re expensive at the Aiport?''
V ice-President, Harbours and Airport C ommittee - No. I would not accept
t hat. If any concessionaire wishes to
t ake on a particular product where the
m argin on it would not enable him to do s o because of the agreement in the
c oncession, my Committee is quite happy t o consider the matter and make special
a rrangements where necessary and where a ppropriate.''
S enator D.A. Carter - I would just ask
t he Vice-President whether the
C ommittee would consider when they go f orward with a new tender to make it a
c ondition of the tender that the prices
a re kept at about the average of retail
p rices within the Island, that it is
i mposed as a tendering condition, then
p eople would bid in the knowledge that
o btains. At the moment of course people c an bid almost anything and then
r ecover it because they can then charge
t o a captive audience what the traffic
w ill bear. I would just like the Vice-
P resident to bear this in mind when
t hey discuss the conditions of the
t endering document?''
V ice-President, Harbours and Airport C ommittee - This will be borne in
m ind, but this will not be until 1995
o f course.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 5
Will the President give an assurance
t hat when the concessions such as the
o ne granted to Trust House Forte at
J ersey Airport expire, Jersey companies
o r individuals able to satisfy the
r equirements of the Committee will be a llowed to tender?''
Vice-President, Harbours and Airport Committee
It is my Committee's policy with
r egard to major concessions that they
w ill be subject to tender and Jersey
c ompanies or individuals satisfying the r equirements of the Committee are
a llowed to tender.''
Housing qualifications. Questions and answers.
Senator T.J. Le Main asked Deputy Hendricus Adolphus Vandervliet of St. Lawrence, President of the Housing Committee, the following questions -
Q uestion 1
Is it correct that certain employees
c lassed as essential and brought in
f rom outside the Island to work for
t he States, and the children of such
e mployees, are able, after ten years'
r esidence here, to acquire full
h ousing qualifications even in cases
w here the employees concerned are 50
o r 55 years of age?''
The President of the Housing Committee replied as follows -
Under the Housing Regulations, it is i ndeed the case that where somebody w hom the Housing Committee has
a ccepted as an essential employee
u nder Regulation 1(1)(j) completes ten y ears' continuous residence as an
e ssential employee, he or she
q ualifies to purchase or lease
d welling accommodation in his or her
o wn right. Likewise, Regulation
1 (1)(h) provides that a child of a
r esidentially qualified person may
p urchase or lease dwelling
a ccommodation once ten years'
r esidence has been completed.
T he Regulations in question make no p rovisions regarding the ages of
e ssential employees, and this is very m uch a matter for the employer in
q uestion. My Committee would not n ormally seek to interfere in such a m atter, though it is very rare that
s omebody in his or her fifties would b e recruited as an essential employee
o n an unrestricted consent.
I should remind the Senator that under S tates' immigration policy, my
C ommittee normally grants (j) category c onsents on a time-restricted basis
o nly, one effect of which is that such
e mployees and their families are not
a ble to obtain residential
q ualifications. The above arrangements I have just described apply to
e ssential employees in both the public a nd private sectors of employment.''
S upplementary questions and answers.
S enator J.S. Rothwell - The Deputy i n the last paragraph of his written a nswer speaks about the time-
r estriction placed only on a time-
r estricted basis only', do I therefore
t ake it that when appointing someone l ike a top civil servant like the
D irector of Education, that he is only h ere for a limited time?''
P resident, Housing Committee - No, t here are very senior positions in
b oth the private and the public sector t hat are an issue on an open end, but t hey will not get their qualifications u ntil they have resided for ten
c ontinuous years in that occupation.''
S enator Le Main - Would it not be r ight to say that the Deputy , the
P resident of the Housing Committee, h as slightly misled us on the last
p aragraph because it seems to imply t hat under the States' immigration
p olicy that the Committee grants
c onsents on a time-restricted basis,
b ut it is correct that there are still
t op civil servants or top States'
e mployees and in the private sector
t hat come in unrestricted?''
P resident, Housing Committee - Yes, t his applies for instance to
consultants in the Public Health. It
i s important that where the very best
i s required for this Island that they
s hould not be restricted by Housing
R egulations. These consents whenever t hey are issued are issued under
c onsultation with all the authorities
c oncerned in the Island's best
i nterest.''
S enator D.A. Carter - I am a little
p erplexed by two parts of the answer. O ne, says that it is very rare that
s omeone in his or her fifties would be r ecruited as an essential employee on a number of consents, and then the
o ther part says that normally speaking c ategory consents are on a time-
r estricted basis and that only in the
c ase of extremely senior positions are t hey unrestricted. Now it does seem to m e that extremely senior positions are l ikely to be somewhat older people
h aving acquired the wisdom and
a uthority and the qualifications and
t he experience rather than younger
p eople, I do not quite understand that t hose two tie up.''
P resident, Housing Committee -
That is exactly the case. If a
p articular position needs a great deal
o f experience, that is the case. But
w henever the case comes in front of
t he Committee that the person involved w as applying for an unrestricted
c onsent, this is looked at and it is
o ften referred back to the proper
a uthorities so that the right decision
i s made in the Island's best
i nterest.''
C onnétable I.M. Le Feuvre of St.
L awrence - May I ask the President
o f the Housing Committee if he does n ot agree that where we have to bring i n from outside people we cannot
r ecruit from within the Island, and I m ust say that I am becoming very
e mbarrassed and concerned at the sort
o f impression these people must be
g etting from the questions which are b eing asked this morning, if we need t hese people should we not extend to t hem the Jersey hospitality which we h ave been so well known for? If we
n eed this expertise and therefore
b ring them to the Island, should we
n ot treat them with the hospitality
f or which we are well known?''
P resident, Housing Committee - If I
c an just say that I heartedly agree
w ith that. We do not issue these
c onsents lightly and when they are
i ssued these people should be welcomed a mongst us and treated as one of us.''
S enator Le Main - I would like to s ay on a supplementary that does not t he President believe that we have
g iven too much hospitality and I do n ot agree with the Connétable of St. L awrence.''
P resident, Housing Committee - They c ertainly do not get too much
h ospitality from me.''
Senator Le Main
Q uestion 2
If the answer to question 1 is in
t he affirmative, does the same
a rrangement apply to private sector e ssential employees brought in from
o utside?''
President, Housing Committee
As I have said in answer to question
o ne, the same rules apply whether or
n ot an essential employee works in the p ublic or private sectors of
e mployment.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 3
Can the President state whether it
i s correct, in the case of a Jersey
r esident who has housing
q ualifications either by being born in
J ersey or resulting from length of
r esidence and who marries someone who h as come to Jersey after 1980, that
w here such a couple have purchased
s hare transfer accommodation and the
h usband or wife who has the
q ualifications subsequently dies, then
t he surviving partner does not have
h ousing qualifications and must apply
t o the Housing Committee for consent
t o occupy (a)-(h) accommodation as
t hey would otherwise, in theory, have
t o leave the Island or live in
l odgings?''
President, Housing Committee
It is the case that somebody coming
t o live in the Island after 1st
J anuary, 1980, cannot acquire
r esidential qualifications in his or
h er own right. Should such a person
m arry a residentially qualified
p erson, and their not jointly owning
f reehold property, that person remains
u nqualified under the Regulations. In
t he event of the death of the
q ualified person, if the surviving
s pouse should wish to continue
o ccupying residential property in the
I sland, the consent of the Housing
C ommittee is necessary. The Committee r egularly exercises such discretion u nder Regulation 1(1)(g) - the
hardship' Regulation - taking each c ase on its merits.
P erhaps I should take this opportunity t o advise the States that my Committee i s concerned that the circumstances
a re different where a non-qualified
p erson purchases freehold property
j ointly with his or her qualified
s pouse. Here, the Regulations enable
t he unqualified' partner to retain
t he right to purchase and occupy
r esidential property in the event of
m arriage breakdown, death of partner, e tc. My Committee has before it a
d raft amendment to the Regulations,
p repared by the Law Draftsman, which i t proposes to bring to the States in
t he near future and which is designed
t o place such people on the same
f ooting as those who do not own
f reehold property - that is, they too
w ill need the consent of my Committee i n order to continue to occupy
d welling accommodation following
m arriage breakdown or death.''
S upplementary question and answer.
D eputy E.J. Becquet - Is the
P resident really telling the House
t hat in the event of a person buying a h ouse jointly with his wife, the wife b eing qualified, and the wife dying
t hat the husband is not entitled to
c ontinue to own the house, to remain i n occupation of a house which he
h imself has bought?''
P resident, Housing Committee - The i dea of this is to bring a matter to
t he notice of the House. When I
d iscovered that a person coming into
t his Island if they were wealthy
e nough or fortunate enough to be able t o buy, they would maintain their
r ight to live in this Island, whereas
t he lower income person who came to t his Island and only rented property
l ost their qualifications, that I
t hought was grossly unfair and I
i mmediately took it up and it has taken years to reach the stage that we a re in now. The decision to be made e ventually I believe is that everybody b e treated the same, whether the
t enant be treated the same as the
p roprietor or vice-versa, but I have
n ever been able to discover a reason w hy the tenant should be treated
d ifferent from the owner in the matter
o f housing qualifications when they h ave no other right to qualifications
o n the Island. It will be coming up
f or debate so that this is a matter
t hat I consider to be important as a
m atter of fairness.''
D eputy Becquet - Would not the P resident agree that this is
c ompletely against all the laws of r ight of ownership?''
P resident, Housing Committee - It m ay well be the case. The lawyers
s hould have a field day arguing the
p oint out. All I am concerned about is t hat the normal person understands
t hat they are being fairly treated. I
s ee no reason why we should
n ecessarily take away that right of
t he one that has bought, but if we do n ot take away that right we should
g ive the same consideration to the
p erson who has rented with their
s pouse.''
S enator Rothwell - Does not the
P resident detect that from what he is
s aying in these answers feelings could r un very high on the Island as to the
e ffect on individuals and human beings a nd I hope that he drafts an
a ppropriate Proposition to come before the House very, very carefully
i ndeed and have the widest
c onsultation before doing so?''
P resident, Housing Committee -
Senator, you can be absolutely
c ertain that full consideration would b e given to all aspects of it but if
n othing is done then the unfairness c ontinues which I think is
u nacceptable.''
S enator Carter - Could I just ask
t he President when he does bring this m atter to the States to inform the
m embers of the kind of cases which
a rise through the application of this
v ery law in Guernsey, where to my
m emory there have been a number of
e xtremely tragic and bitter cases
w hich have arisen precisely through
t he operation. Guernsey already have
t his kind of law and there have been a
n umber of causes célèbres in Guernsey a nd it has caused an immense amount of t rouble and could I just ask the
P resident to acquaint himself and the
m embers of the House with that situation in Guernsey prior to the
d ebate?''
P resident, Housing Committee - I w ill do my best to put as much
i nformation in front of the House as p ossible but I would like to assure
t he Senator that I am very conscious
o f the Island's international
r eputation.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 4
Is it correct that in the case of a
m arried couple who are Jersey
r esidents but one of the partners was
n ot born in Jersey but may have lived in Jersey continuously for say 30
y ears, the couple having raised a
f amily all of whom could have bought t heir own properties in Jersey, and
t he couple decide to sell their
j ointly owned property in order to
l ive in the United Kingdom or France p ermanently, in the event of the death
o f the Jersey-born partner after they
h ave been away from the Island for
m ore than three months, the surviving p artner is unable to return to Jersey
t o live because he or she no longer
q ualifies and must depend on the
H ousing Committee to exercise its
d iscretion in relation to the grant of
a housing consent?''
President, Housing Committee
In case the wording of the question
s hould be taken by anybody as implying
o therwise, I should remind the States
t hat under the Housing Regulations a
J ersey-born person who has resided for a period of at least ten years in the I sland can leave the Island for as l ong as he or she wishes without
l osing residential qualifications.
H owever, a non-Jersey born person who h as obtained residential
q ualifications by means of length of
r esidence alone loses his or her
q ualifications once leaving the Island
t o reside permanently abroad. In the
c ircumstances described in the
q uestion, if it is the Jersey-born
p artner who dies, and the surviving
s pouse wishes to return and purchase
o r lease accommodation in the Island,
t hen any such application must be
a ddressed by my Committee under
R egulation 1(1)(g) - the applicant
h aving lost his or her automatic
q ualifications. Such cases are
c onsidered strictly on their
i ndividual merits.
I should add for clarification that
w here people have obtained
q ualifications through length of
r esidence alone and who, after a long
p eriod of residence decide to leave
t he Island to live abroad, my
C ommittee is normally prepared to
a llow a period of one year for such
p eople to return without their
q ualifications being affected.
N ormally such arrangements are cleared w ith the Committee in advance.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 5
Is it correct that the Committee has r ejected a number of applications of t his kind in recent months?''
President, Housing Committee
I cannot recall my Committee having r ejected in recent months any
a pplications from non-residentially
q ualified persons whose spouses have d ied and who find themselves in the
c ircumstances described in the
S enator's questions. From time to
t ime, people write to the Housing
D epartment seeking clarification of
t heir rights in the event of such
c ircumstances arising (e.g. residing
a broad and wishing to return at a
l ater stage) and these are answered in a ccordance with the provisions of the H ousing Regulations.''
Senator Le Main Q uestion 6
Has the Committee asked H.M.
A ttorney General for an opinion
w hether its policy relating to the
f oregoing matters is acceptable in the
l ight of the terms of the European
C onvention on Human Rights and, if so, w hat advice did the Committee
r eceive?''
President, Housing Committee
What I have described above are not
p olicies but requirements of the
H ousing Regulations. My Committee has n ot sought the advice of Her Majesty's
A ttorney General on the matter as the
p rovisions are quite clear. People who
f ind themselves in circumstances
d escribed in the Senator's questions
t hree and four who lose their
a utomatic rights to lease and purchase
p roperty under the Regulations may
s eek to reinstate those rights only be
m eans of applying to the Housing
C ommittee under Regulation 1(1)(g).
W henever my Committee proposes new l egislation, we know from experience
t hat the Crown Officers consider the
i mplications of such legislation, and
I have no reason to suppose that Her
M ajesty's Attorney General considers
t he provisions of the Housing
R egulations to contravene any European C onventions on Human Rights.''
S upplementary question and answer.
S enator Le Main - May I ask a
q uestion of the Solicitor General? -
I n regard to question four and in
r egard to the answer given by the
P resident where the Committee gives
l eeway of one year to these people who have left the Island to live abroad,
c an I have the Solicitor General's
o pinion, if a person who has lived
w ith her husband in Jersey for 30
y ears and brought up four or five
c hildren and all those children lived i n Jersey and that person could be
d enied the rights after a year to come b ack and live in accommodation and h ave qualifications, would there be a b reach of human rights?''
H .M. Solicitor General - Can I have n otice of that question?''
Publication of the Budget. Statement.
The President of the Finance and
Economics Committee made a statement in the following terms -
As Members will know, the debate on t he Budget will now take place on 28th N ovember, and I intend to present this t o the House on 7th November, which w ill give Members three weeks to
c onsider the detail, prior to the
d ebate.
I am also pleased to inform the House t hat my Committee has decided that
t his year, the Budget will be
p ublished at the same time as it is
p resented to Members, and will be
a vailable to the public at #10 per
c opy.''
Small Works: improved services to applicants. Statement.
The President of the Island
Development Committee made a statement in the following terms -
1. E arlier this year the
C o m m ittee commenced trials of a p r o c edure to deal with
ap p l i ca tions for Small
W o r k s ' which has proved most su c c e s sful. Applications are
n o w d ealt with more quickly
th a n in the past, but further
im p ro v ements to the service
ar e p o ssible and will be
m a d e .
2 . Until the new procedure was
i n st ituted all applications were
p r o cessed in the same way. Thus an a p p lication for, say, permission
t o b uild a small domestic garage
w o uld take as long to deal with as
o n e for a new house. With
e x p erience, it has become possible t o t reat small works differently
f ro m other kinds of development.
O n a weekly list, up to one third
o f t he seventy to ninety
a p p lications are for small works,
m an y for internal alterations
w h ich will not be seen from
o u t side the building.
3 . A small works application form,
w it h notes for guidance, can be
o b t ained from the Department. The
a m o unt of information required by th e Committee has been reduced to a m inimum. Processing applications u s u ally includes a site visit by
a n o fficer of the Department and
t h e reasonable interests of
i m m ediate neighbours are
r e co gnised at that time.
4 . The time needed to determine small w o rks applications can now be
r e d uced to two weeks. Officers
n e e d only an hour or two to make
a n a ssessment and recommendation t o t he Committee, but the file is
h e ld for longer awaiting possible
r e p resentations from interested
m em bers of the public. The
C o m mittee believes that this delay
i s n ot justified. In the light of
t h e past six months' experience,
t h e Committee is confident that
t h e few representations which are
l ik e ly to be received will raise
p o i nts already taken into
c o n sideration by the assessing
o f fi cer.
5 . To simplify the processing of
a p p lications the Committee will no l o n ger advertise the receipt of
s m a ll works applications after
3 1 s t October, 1989, as there is no
r e q uirement under the Law for
a p p lications to be published.'' State of Emergency - water rationing. Statement.
The President of the Public Works Committee made a statement in the following terms -
The Public Works Committee considers i t important for the emergency powers
t o be renewed. The short range weather
f orecast is that fronts moving south-
e ast over the British Isles are
e xpected to be weak in the Channel
I slands area as pressure remains
r elatively high. Rainfall amounts up
u ntil 15th October are expected to be
s mall. The medium term forecast,
1 6th - 29th October, indicates that
h igh pressure will persist to the
s outh of the British Isles in which
c ase below average rainfall can be
e xpected. In the longer term, 30th
O ctober - 10th November, there are a
n umber of conflicting indicators but
t here is no positive indication of
s ubstantial rainfall.
T here are now 117m gallons of water in s tore. The reduction over the last
w eek of water in store amounts to
4 .89m gallons. The average daily
c onsumption over the past week has
b een 3.13m gallons, slightly over the
t arget of 3m gallons.
D uring the drought period the
d esalination plant has produced 163m g allons of water, considerably more
t han the total which remains in store.
I t remains vital that all consumers
c ontinue to economise in the use of w ater, especially so having regard to t he weather forecast for the coming w eeks.''
Glasshouse industry: refund of harbour dues. P.120/89.
THE STATES, adopting a Proposition
of the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, agreed to reintroduce the subsidy to provide a refund of harbour dues on the importations of fuel used by the glasshouse sector as outlined in the Report of the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee, dated 29th June, 1989.
Règlements (1989) sur le tarif des honoraires des Jurés-Justiciers. P.121/89.
THE STATES, by virtue of Article 7
of the Loi (1938) sur les honoraires des Jurés-Justiciers, adopted Regulations entitled the Règlements (1989) sur le tarif des honoraires des Jurés-Justiciers.
Archirondel Cottage, St. Martin, refurbishment. P.123/89.
THE STATES, having rejected an
amendment of Deputy Sir Martin Le Quesne of St. Saviour that after paragraph (b) there should be added (c) to agree that, on completion of the refurbishment, the
property should be occupied by an
essentially employed person on contract to
the States'', adopted a Proposition of the Housing Committee and -
( a) approved Drawing Nos 2881-2, 3 and 4 A showing the refurbishment of
A rc hirondel Cottage, St. Martin,
t o p rovide one two-bedroomed unit
o f a ccommodation;
( b) authorised the Greffier of the
S t a tes to sign the said Drawings
o n behalf of the States.
Building Loans (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 19) (Jersey) Regulations, 1989. P.126/89.
THE STATES, in pursuance of
Article 15 of the Building Loans (Jersey) Law, 1950, as amended, made Regulations entitled the Building Loans (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment No. 19) (Jersey) Regulations, 1989.
Social Security and health care: agreement with Norway. P.127/89. THE STATES, adopting a Proposition
of the Social Security Committee, requested the Bailiff to inform the Secretary of
State that it is the wish of the Assembly
that the Convention on Social Security, together with a Protocol on Medical
Treatment between the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Kingdom of Norway should apply to Jersey.
THE STATES rose at 12.30 p.m.
R . S . G RAY Deputy Greffier of the States.