States Minutes 27th February 1990

STATES MINUTES 2 7 th February, 1990

 THE STATES assembled on Tuesday,  27th February, 1990 at 9.30 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 Terence John Le Main - out of t he Island.

 R obin Ernest Richard Rumboll, Deputy

o f St. Helier - out of the Island.

 H enri Léon Dubras, Deputy of St.

M artin - out of the Island.

C ynthia Miriam Rumboll, Deputy of St. H elier - out of the Island.

A lan Payn Bree, Deputy of Grouville -

o ut of the Island.

_ _ _ _ _ _______

P r a y e rs  

_ _ _ _ _ _______

Subordinate legislation tabled

The following enactment was laid before the States, namely -

R oad and Sand Racing (Amendment) ( Jersey) Order 1990. R & O 8031.

Education Committee: resignation of member

THE STATES noted the resignation

of Senator Dereck André Carter from the Education Committee.

Public Services Committee: appointment of President

There were nominated for appointment as President of the Public Services Committee -

D eputy John Le Gallais of St.

S aviour - proposed by Senator Pierre F rançois Horsfall.

D eputy David John de la Haye of St. H elier - proposed by Senator John

S tephen Rothwell.

T HE STATES, having proceeded to a s ecret ballot, the Bailiff declared

t hat Deputy Le Gallais has been

e lected President of the Public

S ervices Committee.

T he result of the ballot was as f ollows -

D  ep uty Le Gallais 26 votes D  ep uty de la Haye 18 votes

Information Technology Development Plan for 1990. R.C.2

The Establishment Committee by Act dated 12th February, 1990, presented to the States a report on the Information Technology Development Plan for 1990.

THE STATES ordered that the said report be printed and distributed.

Broadcasting Committee: report for 1989. R.C. 3

The Broadcasting Committee, by Act dated 8th February, 1990, presented to the States a report for the year 1989.

THE STATES ordered that the said report be printed and distributed.

Matters noted - land transactions

THE STATES noted an Act of the

Finance and Economics Committee dated 19th February, 1990 showing that in pursuance of Standing Orders relating to certain transactions in land, the Committee had approved -

( a) as recommended by the Public Works C o m mittee, the lease to J.M.T.

( 1 9 78) Limited of the bus terminus

a n d parking area at the

W  e ighbridge, St. Helier , for a

p e r iod of one year from 1st

J a n uary, 1990, at an annual rent

o f # 11,438 for the terminus and

# 8 3 6 for the parking area;

( b) as recommended by the Public Works C o m mittee, the lease to Mrs. Fay

S m  ith, née Godfray, of shop and

s to r e at No. 50, Colomberie, St.

H  el ier, together measuring 739

s q u are feet, for a period of one

y e a r from 29th September, 1989, at

a n a nnual rent of #6,565;

( c) as recommended by the Public Works C o m mittee, the lease to Mr. John

E v a ns of shop and store at No. 50,

C o l omberie, St. Helier, together

m  ea suring 281 square feet, for a

p e r iod of one year from 29th

S e p tember, 1989, at an annual rent

o f # 4,080;

( d) as recommended by the Public Works C o m mittee, the lease to Toppers

( C . I.) Limited of shop and store

a t 5 0, Colomberie, St. Helier ,

t o g ether measuring 455 square

f e et , for the period 24th March to

2 8 t h September, 1990, at a rent

f o r the six month period of

# 3 , 139.86;

( e) as recommended by the Public Works C o m mittee, the purchase from Mr.

W  a lter Joseph Meade and Mrs.

M  o nica Joyce Gladys Meade, née

R a n d, of 451 square feet of land

a d ja cent to Summerfield' and La

P a l oma', St. Brelade's Bay,

r e q uired in connexion with road

i m p rovements and the construction

o f a footpath, for a consideration

o f # 10,000, with the Committee

b e in g responsible for the

a c c ommodation works and the

p a y ment of all legal fees;

 ( f) as recommended by the Harbours and A  ir port Committee, the renewal of

t h e lease to the Jersey Sub-Aqua

C l u b of a club room at La Folie,

S t . Helier (Letting No. LF4) for a

f u rt her period of three years,

f ro m 1st January, 1990, at an

a n n ual rent of #700, with the rent

t o b e reviewed annually in line

w  it h the Jersey Cost of Living

I n d ex;

 ( g) as recommended by the Harbours and A  ir port Committee, the lease to

M  r . Maxwell Robert de la Haye of

2 0 perches of land on Mont à la

B r u ne, Pont Marquet, St. Brelade ,

f o r a further period of three

y e a rs, from 1st February, 1990, at

a n a nnual rent of #35;

 ( h) as recommended by the Public

H  ea lth Committee, the leasing from M  a c Por Development Company

L i m ited of a one-bedroomed flat at

2 9 , Midvale Road, St. Helier , for

a n i nitial period of two years

f ro m 1st January, 1990, at a rent

o f # 90 a week, with a cost of

l iv i ng rise at the end of the

f ir s t year, and annual reviews

t h er eafter, required for

o c c upation by hospital staff.

( T h e Committee rescinded paragraph ( l) o f Act No. 9 of 22nd January,

1 9 9 0, which was notified to the

S t a tes on 30th January, 1990).

Matters lodged

The following subjects were lodged au Greffe'' -

 1 .  Jersey Lifeboat Appeal: grant. P . 2 6/90.

P r e sented by the Finance and

E c o nomics Committee.

 2 .  Voluntary severance payments for p u b lic employees. P.27/90.

P r e sented by the Establishment

C o m mittee.

The following subjects were lodged on 20th

February, 1990 -

 1 .  Draft Royal Court (Amendment

N  o . 5) (Jersey) Law 199 . P.24/90. P r e sented by the Legislation

C o m mittee.

 2 .  On-street parking charges in St. H  el ier. P.25/90.

P r e sented by the Public Works C o m mittee.

Arrangement of Public Business for next Sitting on 13th March, 1990

THE STATES confirmed that the following subjects lodged au Greffe should be considered at the next Sitting on 13th March, 1990 -

Draft Royal Court (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Law 199 . P.24/90.

Lodged: 20th February, 1990. Legislation Committee.

Jersey Lifeboat Appeal: grant. P.26/90.

Lodged: 27th February, 1990. Finance and Economics Committee.

Voluntary severance payments for public employees. P.27/90. Lodged: 27th February, 1990. Establishment Committee.

Motor tax revenue. Questions and answers

Deputy Michael Adam Wavell of St.

Helier asked Senator Reginald Robert Jeune , President of the Finance and Economics Committee, the following questions -

Q uestion 1

  Would the President give an

 i ndication as to the revenue received

 f rom Motor Taxation and an estimate of  t he annual cost of collecting it under

 t he present procedure?''

The President of the Finance and Economics Committee replied as follows -

  It is estimated that #1.2 million

w ill be collected from the taxation on m otor vehicles in 1990.

T he cost of the Motor Tax Section of t he Treasury amounts to #170,000 per a nnum. Of this sum #65,000 relates to t he annual licence renewal each

J anuary and #105,000 is in respect of n ew vehicle registrations, transfer of

o wnership, import and export of

v ehicles and the maintenance of

r ecords throughout the year.''

S upplementary question and answer

D eputy Wavell - Would the President t ell the House the number of persons

e mployed by this department?''

P resident, Finance and Economics C ommittee - It is a pity I did not h ave notice of that question.''

Deputy Wavell  Q uestion 2

  Would the President examine the

 p resent procedure and give

 c onsideration to a scheme where there

 w ould be a nominal charge made for

compulsory registration of a vehicle

o n purchase and, thereafter, motor tax

 r evenue would be collected by means of  a surcharge on petrol?''

President, Finance and Economics Committee

  We are currently examining existing

 p rocedures. A Working Party comprising

o f representatives of the Treasury,

 P ersonnel, Computer Services, Motor

 T raffic and the Police are

 i nvestigating the computerisation of

 a ll aspects of motor vehicle

 r egistration and renewal procedures. I

 h ope that these investigations should

 b e completed within the next few

m onths.

M y Committee has previously considered a n addition to the duty on petrol

i nstead of the annual motor taxation a nd has decided not to proceed in this f or several reasons -

 ( a) It would add unnecessarily to the c o s t of living. An increase in

p e tr ol price feeds very quickly

i n to the economy. Taxis, small

t ra d esmen and delivery services

    g e n erally use petrol driven

v e h icles and the additional cost

o f p etrol would very quickly

f il te r into pricing structures.

 ( b) Although the rates of motor

t a xa tion have not increased in

r e ce nt years, it is still a

f le x ible method of taxation. The p r e sent system could, in the

f u tu re, be used if necessary to

s u p port traffic management and

c o n trol schemes. It would be

p o s sible, for example, to be more s e le ctive and vary the tax, not

o n l y on the size or type of

v e h icle, but also perhaps on the

n u m ber of vehicles owned by any

o n e household.

 ( c) The present annual renewal

p r o vides a positive verification

t h at the vehicle is insured. It

m  ay be argued that the current

i n su rance may expire immediately a f te r the renewal date, but this

i s n evertheless a most important

c h e ck, and some other means of

v e r ification would need to be

e s ta blished.

S ome vehicles are presently exempt

f rom paying annual motor tax, for

e xample those adapted for and used by h andicapped persons, the cost of such u sers would increase with any addition t o petrol duty.

I am aware that the rate of motor

v ehicle tax in Jersey is significantly

l ess than either our sister island or

t he United Kingdom, but it must be

r emembered that our rates have not

b een increased since 1981. If we were t o increase the rates by an equivalent p ercentage as the increase in the cost

o f living since 1981, this would a lmost double existing rates of motor t ax.''

Deputy Wavell  Q uestion 3

  Would the President inform the House

o f the quantity of petrol sold per

 y ear in the Island and indicate what

 s ort of increase such a scheme would

 c ost the public on a gallon of petrol,

 b earing in mind the inevitable savings

o n civil service and administration

 t ime?''

President, Finance and Economics Committee

  Petrol sold during 1989 amounted to  1 0.5 million gallons.

B ased on the present level of income

o btained from existing rates of motor

t axation, and assuming that the

q uantity and type of petrol used

r emains constant, the duty on petrol

w ould need to be increased by 11 pence p er gallon.

T his 11 pence per gallon is based on

a n across the board increase

m aintaining the same duty

d ifferentials between leaded and

u nleaded. The Committee would however, n eed to give careful consideration to

t he future differentials between these

t ypes of petrol.''

  Can I just tell the Deputy that the

 n umber of employees in the Motor  S ection is six full-time and there are  3 5 in the January.''

S upplementary questions and answers

S enator Shenton - As President of

t he Establishment Committee - those f igures of the establishment - would

t he President bear in mind and make k nown to the working party that there c ould be considerable savings in

m anpower if this work was transferred t o the Motor Traffic Department.''

P resident, Finance and Economics C ommittee - I am sure that we must b ear that in mind and it is an obvious p oint of consideration.''

C onnétable of St. John - To reduce

t hose figures and costs, has the

P resident given serious consideration t o a subject which I think was

o riginally raised by Senator Le Main

o f having deferred renewals during the y ear?''

P resident,  Finance and Economics

C ommittee - Yes, that is being

c onsidered and it is obviously a

m atter that ought to be considered and I have seen that in discussions with

t he Treasurer that that consideration

s hould happen.''

D eputy H. Baudains - Would the

P resident of Finance agree that the

a nnual renewal of tax is very useful

b ecause owners of vehicles who move a ddress have to re-register their new

a ddress and if they get away with the t ax, this might be lost which could be d ifficult?''

P resident, Finance and Economics

C ommittee - There certainly has to b e some registration for records, for p olice, for insurance, for addresses,

t here needs to be, and there will have t o be people employed to do that, but a s I say, with the development of

c omputerisation and the kindly

c onsiderations that we are giving to t he Connétable of St. John's point

o f staggered registration, it may be

t hat we can make the position much m ore efficient.''

D eputy G. Rabet - Could the

P resident of Finance please

i nvestigate if it would be possible,

e xcept during the month of January, if t he Motor Taxation department could h ave a trade section only as most

p eople using the Treasury except

d uring the month of January are the m otor trades, could the President

i nvestigate the possibility of having

a trade counter only?''

P resident, Finance and Economics

C ommittee - I note what the Deputy h as said and we will investigate it.''

Proposals to amend the States loan scheme. Questions and answers

Senator Richard Joseph Shenton

asked Deputy Hendricus Adolphus Vandervliet of St. Lawrence, President of the Housing Committee, the following questions -

Q uestion 1

  Will the President of the Housing

 C ommittee inform the House as to when  h e was made aware of my proposals to

 a mend the States loan scheme?''

The President of the Housing Committee replied as follows -

  I first saw Senator Shenton's

 p roposals to amend the States loan  s cheme during October 1989.''

Senator Shenton  Q uestion 2

  Will the President also advise the  H ouse as to when discussions took  p lace with his Committee?''

President, Housing Committee

  My Committee received a departmental  p aper on Senator Shenton's report and

 p roposition on 10th November 1989.

 H aving considered the detail of the

 r eport and proposition, together with

 t he department's paper, my Committee

 i nvited the Senator to its next

m eeting to discuss with him the

 c ontent of his report and proposition.

S enator Shenton attended the next

H ousing Committee meeting on 24th N ovember 1989, and we had a long

d iscussion on all aspects of his

r eport and proposition. My Committee a dvised the Senator that further

c onsideration would be given to his

p roposition, and instructed its

d epartment to further research some a spects arising from the discussion.

T he matter was discussed again at the C ommittee meeting of 8th December, 1 989, following which we wrote to

S enator Shenton, advising him that the C ommittee could see some merit in

p arts of his proposals but that in

o rder that yet further information

c ould be made available, further

c onsideration would be given early in t he New Year. Senator Shenton's reply s uggested that he was prepared to

a ccept this timescale, and advised

t hat I would not wish to leave this

m atter rest too long ....... and if

t he Committee is not minded to take

t he matter to the States, then I will

d o so myself in the early stages of

t he next session.'

A t the very first meeting of 1990 -

t hat is, on 5th January - my Committee g ave final consideration to the report

a nd proposition, together with a

f urther departmental paper, and

d ecided that for various reasons it

c ould not support the proposition. I

w rote personally conveying the

d ecision to Senator Shenton on 10th

J anuary.

T he clear implication of this question i s that my Committee has taken too

m uch time on the matter. But this, as s o aptly put by the Finance and

E conomics Committee, is a complex matter of housing policy which

n ecessitated considerable research and d iscussion. Does the Senator

a ppreciate, for example, the

f ollowing -

 ( i) the impact his proposal would have

o n demand and prices in a market

a l re ady suffering from acute

e x c ess of demand over supply - an a s p ect of his proposition about

w  h ich the States Economic Adviser i s e xtremely concerned and which

h a s prompted him to write to us;

 ( ii) t hat one effect of his

p ro p o s al would be to allow si n g le persons to buy family h o m e s with States loans

w h i ch , in my Committee's

o p in i o n, is not a good use of

o u r li m ited stock;

 ( iii)  that first-time buyers would

b e p e r mitted to borrow, as of ri g h t, c onsiderable sums of

m o n e y from private lenders at co m  m  ercial interest rates,

an d y e t seek up to #60,000

fr o m t he States at rates as

lo w a s 3 per cent;

 ( iv)  t hat his proposition seeks to in t ro d u ce a supplementary

lo a n sc heme when it was only in O c t ober 1989 that the

S ta t e s agreed to abolish the

su p p l e mentary loan scheme;

 ( v) the problem of who has the first

c h a rge on a property when both the S t a tes and a bank lend

c o n siderable sums on the same

p r o perty;

 ( vi)  t he knock-on effect which

co m  p e ting with the

p re f e re ntial loans granted by

so m e e mployers to their staff m a y h ave - that is, an ever-

in c r e as ing spiral of demand

an d p r essure on prices with

w h i ch the market cannot cope.

C learly, such issues are of

p aramount importance, and my Committee w as right to give them as much

c onsideration as was necessary.''

S upplementary questions and answers

S enator D.A. Carter - The question I p ut to the Housing Committee is that I a ppreciate their justification for the

a mount of time they spent up until

1 0th January but why is it then, can I a sk the President, having done all the r esearch, given the matter very, very d etailed consideration and having

k nown for a fortnight that this

p roposition was due to be debated

t oday, do we not have before us a

r eport on the proposition from the

H ousing Committee?''

P resident, Housing Committee - I was n ever asked to produce a report. At

t he last sitting I said that I would

b e proposing to this House that we

p repare a report. It was open to

a nyone to have made the proposition

t hen, but I wanted to hear, and I said

s o at the time, I wanted to hear what

S enator Shenton had to say.''

S enator Shenton - My reasons for

p utting forward the questions, will he

a ccept, was because of the very point

t hat Senator Carter has picked up. I

a m disturbed by the amount of wasted

t ime that this House indulges in and

t herefore when one knew of the two

r eports that have been prepared for

H ousing, and the meeting that had

t aken place with Housing, quite

f rankly it was a sense of frustration

t hat here was Finance and Economics

w ho has examined my report and

p roposition and it is delayed because

i t goes to them first, suddenly saying

w ell we think we should have a report

f rom Housing and it does make me think w hy people can't pick up a phone and

s ay to Housing have you researched

S enator Shenton's proposition, if so

l et us have it, because that's the way

w e operate. I am just concerned with

t he complete waste of time of the

S tates' Members?''

P resident, Housing Committee - There m ay be not much difference in Senator S henton's mind between a department p aper and a committee paper, but so

f ar as I am concerned, a committee

p aper is a committee paper and I want t hat report for the House to be

p repared and vetted by the Committee, b ecause this is to me an important

o ne. But as I said before there was no r eason at all why anyone a fortnight

a go would not have suggested, put it

t o the House that a report be

p repared, but as far as the delay is

c oncerned I have explained it went to C ommittee three times, but I haven't

a dded that the meeting that took place a t the beginning of December and both t he Chief Officer and I were absent

t hrough illness.''

S enator Horsfall - When this report

a nd proposition of Senator Shenton's

c ame to the Finance Committee, in fact w e were under the impression that a

r eport was actually being prepared by

t he Housing Committee at that time, so w e were expecting that such a report w ould become available in due

c ourse.''

P resident, Housing Committee - I saw t he minute from the Finance and

E conomics Committee that they thought a report should be made available but

I received no request for it.''

S enator Shenton - May I say that,

h aving heard that and I appreciate

w hat the Vice-President has said and a gain I don't want to waste time, I

s ee no point in discussing the matter t hen waiting for the report from

H ousing. If it is that the House wants a report from Housing before it is

d ebated, I would rather wait for that r eport to be given to this House and

t hen debated. I am ready as and when t hat report comes forward.''

S enator Carter - Given the past

h istory and the depth of information

r esearch which has already been

c arried out I would like to ask the

P resident of Housing how long it would t ake to present this report, will it

b e one fortnight from today or two

f ortnights from today?''

P resident, Housing Committee - I

h ope, and I have every reason to

b elieve, and I have discussed this

w ith the Chief Executive Officer, I

w ould hope that we would be actually p utting the report in front of the

H ouse a fortnight today and I hope

t hat it will be debated a fortnight

a fter that when people have had time t o study the report. That is my firm

i ntention.''

S enator B. Brooke - The report that i s before the House, P.18/90, relating t o this series of questions, if

M embers wish to debate P.18 today, is i t possible that we can do this? Would t he Housing Committee President be p repared to allow the debate?''

P resident,  Housing Committee - As f ar as I am concerned, I am delighted w ith what Senator Shenton has said

t hat we have a debate once the paper i s in front of us that everyone can

s ee what the size of the problem is

a nd all its different aspects.''

D eputy E.J. Becquet - Would the

P resident of the Housing Committee not a gree that the report of his Committee

i s contained in the answers to his

q uestions?''

 P resident,  Housing Committee -

  Absolutely. The only thing I think I

 s hould say is that when this

 p roposition was sent to me, had it

 b een sent to the Finance and Economics  C ommittee in the first place and not

 t o me personally at home the matter

 c ould have been debated before

 C hristmas. The Finance and Economics  C ommittee would have requested a

 r eport, I am absolutely certain, and

 i t could have been debated before

 C hristmas. But it didn't go, actually

 t he Senator wanted me to bring this

 p roposition to the States.''

Private sector rent rebate scheme. Statement

The President of the Housing

Committee made a statement in the following terms -

  I am grateful to have this

o pportunity to advise members on the

 c urrent position with regard to the

 i ntroduction of a private sector rent

 r ebate scheme.

M embers will recall that in December 1 989, the States approved a

p roposition of the Housing Committee w hich authorised the Committee to

p repare the necessary legislation to

i ntroduce a rent rebate scheme for

p rivate sector tenants during 1990, as

s et out in the report of the Committee

d ated 31st October 1989.' Members will a lso recall how the report in question

p roposed that because the Committee w as charting new waters, the scheme

s hould be introduced on a trial basis

f or the first year, at the end of

w hich time the Committee would report b ack to the States. The report also

s tated that the Committee proposed to

i ntroduce the scheme through triennial r egulations.

F ollowing consultation with the

A ttorney General and Greffier of the S tates, my Committee has decided that i t now wishes to introduce the scheme i n its first, experimental year

w ithout regulations, for two reasons -

 ( i) during the first year we will

e n c ounter many difficult,

u n e xpected problems which will c a ll for flexibility on our part;

 ( ii)  t he drafting of these

re g u l a tions is likely to be

co m  p l ex, and inevitably if

th e y ar e to be done properly,

ti m e - c onsuming. My Committee w i sh e s to introduce the

sc h e m  e as soon as possible

an d I f eel sure that in this

en d e a v our we have the full

su p p o r t of the States.

G iven the above, I can advise the

H ouse that subject to the States

a pproving our application for funds to f inance the scheme (to be included in A pril's supply day requests), we are

c onfident of introducing the scheme on M onday, 30th April 1990. The States P ersonnel Department is currently

r ecruiting the necessary staff to

o perate the scheme, and we hope to

h ave them in office by 1st April. Assuming our supply request is

a pproved on 24th April, we shall

a dvertise extensively that the scheme

i s to operate from 30th April and that a pplication forms and notes for

g uidance are available from the

H ousing Department.

A lthough we propose to introduce the

s cheme without regulations, its

a pplication will be based on the

p rinciples set out in the Committee's

r eport. The Committee will exercise

d iscretion to refuse an application

f or rebate where it is not satisfied

t hat an applicant qualifies, though

s uch applicants will have right of

a ppeal to the Committee, and of course r epresentation if they so wish. In

t ime, regulations will set out the

e ntitlements of applicants, having

b een drafted following practical

e xperience of operating the scheme.

T he need for caution in the early days

o f the scheme is paramount.

W e cannot be sure how many

a pplications to expect once the scheme h as been advertised. In our report to

t he States we estimated a maximum of 2 ,500 eligible tenants with a likely

t ake-up of approximately 1,800

t enants. Clearly, if all eligible

t enants apply within a short timescale t here will be initial practical

p roblems of dealing with the workload a nd inevitably there will be some

d elay between receipt of an

a pplication and payment of rebate,

e specially in light of the fact that

p roperties will need to be visited to

e nsure that rents charged are fair and

r easonable. Applicants will need to be p atient in the knowledge that rebate

w ill be backdated to 30th April or the d ate of application, (whichever is the

l ater), for those tenants who satisfy

t he terms of the scheme.''

Sale of a flat at Maison d'Azette. Statement

The President of the Housing

Committee made a statement in the following terms -

  I wish to advise the House of

 t he background to an issue which  r eceived press coverage last week.

 O n Monday, 19th February, a letter

f rom Senator Shenton was received in m y Department, asking for an

  investigation' and full report' on

t he events surrounding the sale of a

f lat at Maison d'Azette. A copy of

S enator Shenton's letter was forwarded t o my home address and arrived on

T uesday, 20th February, when I was

a ble to see it for the first time. My

C hief Officer had already commenced r esearching the issue and preparing a

r eport for the Senator.

O n Thursday, 22nd February, Senator S henton contacted a Jersey Evening

P ost reporter and, I am advised,

c omplained that he had written to me s eeking a report, but had not yet

r eceived one. The issue was front page h eadlines that evening, three days

f ollowing receipt of his letter in my

D epartment and two days after my

h aving received a copy in my home.

I do not consider that Senator Shenton h as behaved fairly and reasonably in

t he way he has handled this matter to d ate. If the matter justified writing

t o me and calling for an investigation a nd full report in the first place, it

s urely justified giving me reasonable t ime to provide him with such a

r eport.

T he matter in question - concerning p rice control and the problem

a ffecting a Maison d'Azette flat - is a n important one, and one on which I p ropose to give the States a full

a ccount at the earliest opportunity.''

Sous-magistrat: appointment

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition

of the Establishment Committee, appointed Advocate David Anthony Trott to the post of Sous-magistrat from 1st May, 1990.

Victoria Pier: renewal of lease of warehouse accommodation

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Harbours and Airport Committee -

( a) approved the renewal of the lease t o H uelin- Renouf Shipping of

g r o und floor accommodation and p a r tially usable first floor

s torage accommodation in the

w  ar ehouse on the Victoria Pier for a p e riod of nine years, effective

f ro m 1st January, 1990 until 31st D ec ember, 1998, at an initial

a n n ual rent of #29,250 with a rent r e v iew each year linked to the

J e rs ey Cost of Living Index over

t h e previous twelve month period t o t he quarter ended September;

 ( b) authorised the Greffier of the

S t a tes to sign the necessary

a g r eement with the Company; and

 ( c) authorised the Treasurer of the S t a tes to receive the payments as t h ey become due.

Queen's Road/Rouge Bouillon junction: roundabout. P.13/90

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition of the Island Development Committee -

 ( a) approved the design of the

p r o posed roundabout at the

j u n ction of Queen's Road and Rouge B o u illon as shown on Drawing

N  o . 290/8;

 ( b) approved the transfer of

a d m inistration from the Education C o m mittee to the Public Services C o m mittee of the area of land

d e s ignated A'' on Drawing

N  o . 290/8;

 ( c) approved the transfer of

a d m inistration from the Island

D  ev elopment Committee to the

P u b lic Services Committee of the a r ea of land and buildings

d e s ignated B'' on Drawing

N  o . 290/8;

 ( d) approved the transfer of

a d m inistration from the Island

D  ev elopment Committee to the

E d ucation Committee of the area of l a nd and buildings designated

C ' ' on Drawing No. 290/8;  ( e) authorised the Greffier of the S t a tes to sign the Drawing on b e h alf of the States.

Draft Public Finances

(Administration) (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Law 199 . P.15/90 and P.22/90

THE STATES commenced consideration

of the draft Public Finances

(Administration) (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Law 199 (lodged on 13th February 1990) and adopted the Preamble and Articles 1, 2 and 3.

Article 4 was adopted, the States having accepted an amendment of Senator Dereck André Carter that in the quoted paragraph (2) for sub-paragraph (a) there should be substituted the following sub-paragraph -

(a)  the Committee may, having

n o ti fi e d the Finance and

E c o n o mics Committee, use

u n sp e n t money available in

an o t h e r vote of credit; or''

Members present voted as follows for Senator Carter's amendment -

P o u r' ' (25)

Senators

 S henton, Baal, Rothwell, Brooke,  C arter, Stein.

Connétable s

 S t. John, St. Helier , St. Clement, St.  L awrence, St. Mary, St. Ouen, St.

 S aviour, St. Martin .

Deputies

 d e la Haye(H), Beadle(B), Wavell(H),

 N orman(C), St. John, Le Sueur(H),

 C outanche(L), Jordan(B), Bailhache (H),  R abet(H), Baudains(H).

C o n t re'' (22)

Senators

J eune, Binnington, Horsfall, Ellis, Le M aistre.

Connétable s

 S t. Peter, St. Brelade , Trinity ,

G rouville.

Deputies

M orel(S), Le Gallais(S), Roche(S),

 T rinity, Vandervliet(L), Blampied(H),  B illot(S), St. Peter, Baudains(C),

B uesnel(H), St. Ouen, Huelin(B), St. M ary.

Article 5 was adopted, the States having accepted an amendment of Senator Carter that for the words sub-paragraphs (a) and (b)'' there should be substituted the words sub-paragraph (b)''.

Articles 6 and 7 were adopted.

The Regulations were adopted, as amended, and lodged in Second Reading (P.28/90).

Building loans: extension of scheme. P.18/90

THE STATES acceded to the request

of Senator Richard Joseph Shenton that his proposition regarding the extension of the building loans scheme (lodged on 13th February 1990) be deferred to 27th March 1990. A report of the Housing Committee on the proposition was to be presented to the States on 13th March 1990.

Abbeyfield Jersey Society: further loan. P.19/90

THE STATES, adopting a Proposition

of the Finance and Economics Committee -

 ( a) authorised the granting of a

f u rt her loan to the Abbeyfield

J e rs ey Society for the purpose of

a s s isting with the purchase,

c o n version and extension of

L y n ton, Nelson Avenue, Havre des P a s into 16 units of accommodation f o r the elderly;

 ( b) agreed that the further loan

s h o uld be fifty per cent of the

i n cr eased cost of the purchase,

c o n version and extension up to a

m  ax imum of #125,000, with interest

a t f our per cent per annum, and s h o uld be repayable in equal

a n n ual instalments over a period

o f 1 5 years;

 ( c) agreed that the additional loan

s h o uld be subject to the same

c o n dition as the original loan,

t h at is, that no persons shall be

a l lo wed to take up accommodation i n t he development without the

p r io r notice and agreement of the

H  o using Committee.

Sea-Fisheries (Size Limits) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 1990. P.21/90

THE STATES, in pursuance of

Articles 2 and 6 of the Sea-Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1962, as amended, made Regulations entitled the Sea-Fisheries (Size Limits) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Regulations 1990.

Urban sites: purchase for residential development. P.20/90

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Policy and Resources Committee -

 ( 1) agreed to purchase, on behalf of

t h e public of the Island,  the

u n d ermentioned urban sites

r e q uired for States' category A'

h ousing, on the basis set out in

t h e report, dated 7th February

1 9 9 0, of the Policy and Resources C o m mittee, with the consideration i n e ach case to be paid out of the

c a p ital vote of credit granted to

t h e Island Development Committee C . 0 904 Acquisition of Land -

M a jor Reserve' -

( a ) the former Channel Television si te , R  ouge Bouillon, St.

H e li e r , measuring

ap p r o x imately 27,900 square

fe e t , fr om Yew Holdings

L im  it e d, for a consideration

o f # 3 .2 5 million, with each

si d e b e ing responsible for

th e p ay ment of its own legal

fe e s ;  

( b ) the Ritz Hotel, Colomberie, S t. H  e lier, measuring

ap p r o x imately 39,200 square fe e t , fr om the Modern Hotels G r o u p , for a consideration

n o t e x ceeding #5.735 million, w i th e ach side being

re s p o n sible for the payment

o f it s o wn legal fees;

( c ) Cleveland Garages, David

P la c e , St. Helier , measuring ap p r o x imately 15,250 square fe e t , fr om D.G. Properties

L im  it e d, for a consideration

o f # 1 .4 75 million, with each

si d e b e ing responsible for

th e p ay ment of its own legal fe e s .  

 ( 2) authorised the Attorney General a n d the Greffier of the States to

p a s s the necessary contracts in

t h e matter.

Members present voted as follows for paragraph (1)(a) -

P o u r' ' (37)

Senators

 S henton, Jeune , Horsfall, Ellis, Baal,  R othwell, Brooke, Carter, Stein.

Connétable s

 S t. Peter, St. Clement, St. Lawrence,  S t. Ouen, St. Brelade, Trinity , St.

M artin.

Deputies

 d e la Haye(H), Morel (S), Le

 G allais(S), Roche(S), Vandervliet(L),  B eadle(B), Wavell(H), Blampied(H),  B illot(S), Norman(C), St. John, St.

 P eter, Baudains (C), Le Sueur(H), St.  O uen, Coutanche(L), Huelin(B),