States Minutes 6th November 1990

STATES MINUTES 6 t h N ovember, 1990 P r ic e : # 2 .0 0

 THE STATES assembled on Tuesday,  6th November, 1990 at 10.00 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 Bernard Thomas Binnington -

o ut of the Island.

S enator John Stephen Rothwell - out of t he Island.

F red Philip Webber Clarke, Connétable

o f St. Helier - out of the Island.

R ichard Winter Le Sauteur, Connétable

o f Grouville - out of the Island.

D avid John de la Haye, Deputy of St. H elier - out of the Island.

H enri Leon Dubras, Deputy of St.

M  artin - ill.

P ercy John Le Masurier, Deputy of St. O uen - out of the Island.

_ _ _ _ _ _______

P r a y e rs  

_ _ _ _ _ _______

Deputy M.A. Wavell of St. Helier - welcome

The Bailiff , on behalf of the

States, welcomed Deputy Michael Adam Wavell of St. Helier on his return to the States

after his recent accident.

Deputy Greffier - appointment

The Bailiff informed the House that

Miss C.M. Newcombe would be appointed Deputy Greffier of the States from 1st

January 1991.

Subordinate legislation tabled

The following enactments were laid before the States, namely -

 1 .  Collective Investment Funds

( R e cognized Funds) (General

P r o visions) (Amendment No. 5)

( J er sey) Order 1990. R. & O. 8124.

 2 .  Water (Temporary Restrictions) ( N o . 2) (Revocation) (Jersey)

O  rd er 1990. R & O 8127.

Department of Postal Administration: report for 1989

The Committee for Postal

Administration by Act dated 24th October 1990, presented to the States a report of

the Department of Postal Administration for the year 1989.

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

Matter noted - land transaction

THE STATES noted an Act of the

Finance and Economics Committee dated 29th October 1990, showing that in pursuance of Standing Orders relation to certain transactions in land, the Committee had approved, as recommended by the Public Health Committee, the lease from Mrs. Jane Perée, née Swift, of the one-bedroomed Flat 4, 73 Rouge Bouillon, St. Helier for a

period of one year from 1st November 1990, with an option to renew for a further year,

at a rent of #80 a week.

Matter noted - financial transaction

THE STATES noted an Act of the

Finance and Economics Committee, dated 29th October 1990 showing that in pursuance of Rule 5 of the Public Finances (General) (Jersey) Rules 1967, as amended, the Committee had noted that the Defence Committee had accepted the lowest of three tenders, namely that submitted by A.C. Mauger and Son (Sunwin) Limited, in the sum of #2,469,663, in a contract period of 63 weeks for the Territorial Army Unit Headquarters at the R.E. Yard, South Hill,

St. Helier .

Matters lodged

The following subjects were lodged au Greffe'' -

 1 .  Rent rebate scheme for private s e c tor tenants: extension of

s c h eme. P.166/90.

P r e sented by the Housing

C o m mittee.

 2 .  Draft Building Loans

( M  iscellaneous Provisions)

( A m endment No. 20) (Jersey) R e g ulations 199 . P.167/90.

   P resented by the Housing

C o m mittee.

 3 .  Caesarean Croquet and Lawn

T e n nis Club: removal of air

d o m e. P.168/90.

P r e sented Deputy M.C. Buesnel

o f S t. Helier.

 4 .  Draft Family Allowances

( J er sey) Law 1972 (Amendment) ( J er sey) Regulations 199 .

P . 1 69/90.

P r e sented by the Social

S e c urity Committee.

 5 .  Draft Family Allowances

( A m endment) (Jersey)

R e g ulations 199 . P.170/90. P re sented by the Social

S e c urity Committee.

 6 .  States of Jersey Standing O  rd ers: miscellaneous

a m e ndments. P.171/90.

P r e sented by the House

C o m mittee.

 7 .  Draft Act establishing a

S c h eme to provide compensation f o r victims of crimes of

v i o lence. P.172/90.

P r e sented by the Defence C o m mittee.

 8 .  Public Employees (Contributory R e t irement Scheme) (General)

( A m endment) (Jersey)

R e g ulations 199 . P.173/90.

P r e sented by the Establishment

C o m mittee.

 9 .  Draft Census (Jersey)

R e g ulations 199  . P.174/90. P r e sented by the Etat Civil

C o m mittee.

 1 0. Chief Officer, States of

J e rs ey Police Force: extension

o f c ontract. P.175/90.

P r e sented by the Defence

C o m mittee.

 1 1. Draft Amendment (No. 13) to t h e Standing Orders of the

S t a tes of Jersey. P.176/90.

   P resented by the House

C o m mittee.

 1 2. Fourth report: States'

s it t ings and planning of

p u b lic business. P.177/90. P r e sented by the House

C o m mittee.

Sex discrimination. P.135/90

THE STATES acceded to the request of Senator Corrie Stein that the proposition relating to sex discrimination (lodged on 11th September 1990) be deferred from the present Sitting to a later date.

Public rank taxi legislation: amendment. P.162/90

THE STATES acceded to the request of Senator Dereck André Carter that consideration of the proposition relating

to the amendment of public rank taxi legislation (lodged on 23rd October 1990 by the Defence Committee) be deferred from the present Sitting to the first item of

matters lodged under Public Business on

20th November 1990.

Arrangement of Public Business for the present Sitting

THE STATES confirmed that the following subjects lodged au Greffe should be considered at the present Sitting -

D raft Christmas Bonus (Amendment) ( Jersey) Regulations 199 . P.160/90. L odged: 23rd October 1990.

S ocial Security Committee.

L aw Draftsman designate:

a ppointment. P.164/90.

L odged: 23rd October 1990. E stablishment Committee.

Arrangement of Public Business for next Sitting on 20th November 1990

THE STATES confirmed that the following subjects lodged au Greffe should be considered at the next Sitting on 20th November 1990 -

P ublic rank taxi legislation: a mendment. P.162/90.

L odged: 23rd October 1990. D efence Committee.

R ent rebate scheme for private

s ector tenants: extension of scheme. P .166/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

H ousing Committee.

D raft Building Loans

( Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment N o. 20) (Jersey) Regulations 199 .

P .167/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

H ousing Committee.

C aesarean Croquet and Lawn

T ennis Club: removal of air dome. P .168/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

D eputy M.C. Buesnel of St.

H elier.

D raft Family Allowances

( Jersey) Law 1972 (Amendment)

( Jersey) Regulations 199 . P.169/90. L odged: 6th November 1990. S ocial Security Committee.

D raft Family Allowances

( Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 199 . P .170/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

S ocial Security Committee.

D raft Census (Jersey)

R egulations 199  . P.174/90. L odged: 6th November 1990. E tat Civil Committee.

P ublic Employees (Contributory

R etirement Scheme) (General)

( Amendment) (Jersey) Regulations 199 . P .173/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

E stablishment Committee.

D raft Act establishing a Scheme

t o provide compensation for victims of c rimes of violence. P.172/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

D efence Committee.

C hief Officer, States of Jersey

P olice Force: extension of contract. P .175/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

D efence Committee.

D raft Amendment (No. 13) to the S tanding Orders of the States of J ersey. P.176/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990.

H ouse Committee.

F ourth report: States' sittings

a nd planning of public business. P .177/90.

L odged: 6th November 1990. H ouse Committee.

La Moye Prison - weekly cost of

keeping a prisoner. Questions and answers

Deputy Maurice Clement Buesnel of

St. Helier asked Deputy Edgar John Becquet of Trinity , President of the Prison Board, the following questions -

Question 1

  Can the President say what the total  w eekly cost is of keeping a prisoner  a t La Moye Prison?''

The President of the Prison Board replied as follows -

  The total weekly cost of keeping a

 p risoner at La Moye Prison in 1989 was

# 86.52. This does not include

 p rovision for staff wages, capital

 e xpenditure and capital servicing.''

Supplementary question and answer

S enator R.R. Jeune - Why the

P resident saw fit to omit staff wages. I t would seem to be that it was a very, very essential part, and could

h e please give us the total cost, if

n ot today, at a subsequent occasion''?

P resident, Prison Board - When I

d iscussed this with the Prison

G overnor I thought that some of these

m atters were not relevant because they

w ere on-going matters and what the

D eputy was asking was how much in food a nd such things as that was the cost.

I will give the figure now, if the

H ouse really wants me to. The figure

i s #447.02.''

Deputy Buesnel Question 2

  Will the President confirm his

 s tatement made in the States recently  t hat a creditor pays #15 a day to keep  a debtor in prison?''

President, Prison Board

  I can confirm that a charge of #15 a

 d ay is made to the creditor to keep a

 d ebtor in prison other than in cases

 i nvolving maintenance arrears or where  t he debtor is imprisoned for other

m atters. Although this contribution is

 b ased on the costs arising from the

 n umber of prisoner days, it excludes

 f ixed costs such as wages and capital

 s ervicing, as all such expenses remain

 t he responsibility of the Prison

 B oard.''

Supplementary questions and answers

D eputy M.C. Buesnel - If all costs

i ncluding manpower and capital costs a re taken into account, does the

P resident feel that in 1990 it is

r ight that the taxpayer should

s ubsidise improvident charities in

b eing able to gaol non-payers.''

P resident, Prison Board - The

p osition is in regard to prisoners at

L a Moye, there are prisoners who are

t here because of infractions of the

l aw and there are prisoners there

w hich we call civil prisoners', that

i s to say persons who are in prison

f or other matters but infraction of

t he law. The position is this, that in

a ccordance with the Prison Law, it is

t he duty of the Law to supply a prison f or the incarceration of these people,

a nd under the Law it would not be

p ossible for the Prison Board to

c harge anything like the cost of

a ctually keeping them. I think I can

p ut this in better perspective in that

t he debtors in prison in 1980 amounted i n all to three. Of these one was in

f or maintenance and there is no charge i n that case, one served 31 days and

o ne served nine days. The number of

d ebtors in 1990 totalled five. Of

t hese one was for maintenance arrears,

o ne was remanded on criminal charges, s o therefore there would be no charges i n that case, of the remainder, three

s erved two days each, one served 11

d ays.''

S enator T.J. Le Main - Can the

P resident confirm that it is correct t hat some prisoners can earn up to

# 150 a week wages in the prison?''

P resident, Prison Board - I will

h ave to have notice of that question.

I t depends on what kind of work they d o, but long-term prisoners earn some m oney but there is a maximum limit on w hat they can earn. But I can't answer t hat question as to how much a week

t hey earn. The amount really for most p risoners is very small indeed.''

Light industry and redundancies. Questions and answers

Deputy Shirley Margaret Baudains of St. Helier asked Senator Reginald Robert Jeune , President of the Finance and Economics Committee, the following questions -

Question 1

  Given the considerable demise of

 l ight industry in Jersey, would the

 P resident confirm what action is being  t aken to arrest this rapid decline?''

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

  The decline of light industry in

 J ersey in recent years involving the

 c losure of the RCA and Redetronics

 f actories, the impending closure of

 O TC and the relocation of part of the  C hannel Islands Knitwear operation to  t he United Kingdom, has come about  b ecause of a combination of local and  e xternal economic conditions.

O f particular relevance has been the

d ifficult labour market conditions

t hat have prevailed in the Island

w hereby light industry has been faced w ith the problem of competing for

s taff with other sectors better able

t o support higher wages and salaries,

a nd also seen as offering greater job

s ecurity. This problem has been

c ompounded by an inability to bring

i nto the Island immigrant workers with t he skills and experience required

b ecause of the housing difficulties.

E xternally, there has been the need of m any firms to rationalise their

o perations in order to survive in an

i ncreasingly competitive trading

c limate, and financial assistance has

b een made available by many

g overnments to encourage businesses to l ocate in areas of relatively high

u nemployment.

I n every case where the forthcoming

c losure of a factory has been made

k nown, the management has been asked w hether there is anything the States

c ould do of a practical nature to

p ersuade them to change their

d ecision. In every case the answer has

b een in the negative. No government

c an resist market forces. However,

w hat governments can seek to do is to

e nsure that through the maintenance of a successful economy those who are

m ade redundant through no fault of

t heir own have a better chance of

f inding alternative employment. In

t his respect the success of States'

p olicies to date, in supporting an

e conomy that has maintained full

e mployment, has ensured that those who h ave been made redundant in recent

y ears, or for whom redundancy is in

p rospect, have been and should

c ontinue to be much better placed in

f inding alternative employment than

t hose made redundant in most parts of

t he United Kingdom and the rest of

W estern Europe.''

Deputy Baudains Question 2

  Would the President confirm to this  H ouse whether or not any written

 a pplications have been received by his  C ommittee from internal or external

 s ources to set up any type of light

 i ndustry or extend such existing

 s chemes locally?''

President, Finance and Economics Committee

  Because of the market influences to

 w hich I have referred in the answer to

 t he previous question, the Deputy

 s hould not be surprised when I say

 t hat in recent times there have been

 n o formal applications made to my

 C ommittee for the establishment of new  l ight industry manufacturing for

 e xport or the significant expansion of

 e xisting light industry. Enquiries

 h ave been received by the Economic

 A dviser's office but these have not

 b een proceeded with. There is an

i nitial interest in the Island,

p articularly from owners of businesses w ho are attracted to the idea of

r esiding in the Island and relocating

p art or the whole of their business

a ctivities. However, many of those

m aking such enquiries are in high

t echnology industries and have a need t o bring to the Island a number of

s enior managers, and employees with

t he required skills, and the number of

e mployment opportunities offered from w hich local residents might benefit

h ave been relatively few in number.

A lso the request is normally for a

g reen field site on which to build a

m odern factory.

W ith the benefit of somewhat easier

l abour market conditions, and/or a

g reater opportunity for green field

s ite development, both Guernsey and t he Isle of Man have been more

s uccessful in attracting light

i ndustry, but these Islands too have

f aced recent plant closures. In this

c ontext, perhaps I can quote from two r ecent reports.

F irstly the States of Guernsey

A dvisory and Finance Committee's P olicy Planning, Economic and

F inancial Report published in July of t his year -

T h e manufacturing sector received a s e vere setback at the beginning

o f t his year when the closure of

T e k tronix was announced with a

l o ss of 229 jobs. This represents

a b o ut 10 per cent of those

e m p loyed in manufacturing and

n e a rly 20 per cent of those

w  o rking in the export earning

f ir m s reducing the value of

e x p orts by one-third. Demand for

l a bo ur in the Island has meant

t h at redundant staff have been

r a p idly absorbed by other

b u s inesses'.

S econdly in the Isle of Man

G overnment's Policy Report for the 1 990s published in October of this y ear -

T h e recent experience of

R o n aldsway Aircraft Company has s e rv ed as a timely reminder that

t h e Island cannot isolate itself

f ro m the impact of world affairs.

T h e pace of change in Eastern

E u r ope, developments in the Gulf, h i g h interest rates and general

w  o rld economic trends can all

a f fe ct local industry which

i n cr easingly competes in

i n te rnational markets'.''

Deputy Baudains Question 3

  Given the declared manpower

r edundancies i.e. OTC - 170 members of s taff, and the recent announcement by

 C hannel Island Knitwear Company to

 s hed some 24 jobs, would the President  i ndicate to the House what action his

 C ommittee is taking to find

 r edeployment for the same, and whether

o r not his Committee is prepared to

 offer financial support to retrain or

 r eskill the redundant staff?''

President, Finance and Economics Committee

  The main protection for those to be

m ade redundant by Channel Island

 K nitwear, and over the next two years

 b y OTC, must lie in the Island

m aintaining a buoyant economy with

 f ull employment. That is the declared

 i ntention of the Policy and Resources

 C ommittee. I am aware that there is

 c onsiderable anxiety among the

 e mployees affected that the zero job

 g rowth policy will mean that there

 w ill be insufficient jobs available

 w hen they are needed. However, in this  c ontext, perhaps I could refer to what

 t he Economic Adviser told Mr.

 K avanagh, the Local District Official

o f the TGWU when he met with him on

 1 7th July and which the Economic

 A dviser on the following day

 c ommunicated to the Managing Director

o f OTC. That is, firstly, that zero

 j ob growth relates to the total work

 f orce of the Island. To the extent

 t here are redundancies, other firms

 w ill be able to expand their work

f orce without coming into conflict

w ith the overall objective. Secondly,

t hat ahead of the date when employees a re made redundant it will be possible

t o inform other employers that, if

t hey want to increase the number of

s taff through the recruitment of the

r edundant staff, they can be expected

t o obtain the necessary licence to do

s o. This has been the practice of the

C ommittee for some time in response to d eclared redundancies; for example the c losure earlier this year of a firm of

s tockbrokers.

T he Economic Adviser went on to say to t he Managing Director that to the

e xtent that those companies offering

e mployment in 1992 are looking for

d ifferent skills, which can be

o btained through off the job training

o ver a reasonably short period,

p erhaps this could be provided for by

H ighlands College working in

c onjunction with OTC, and this was a

m atter that the Economic Adviser

i ndicated he would be pleased to

d iscuss with the Managing Director.

I understand OTC is already talking to H ighlands but that these and other

d iscussions on the subject of

r etraining and re-employment are

a waiting the finalising of the

p rogramme for the phased closure of t he plant. My Committee will be

w atching closely the progress of these d iscussions, and will be taking a

c lose interest in their satisfactory

o utcome.

O n the subject of retraining, perhaps

I could couple with my answer to the

D eputy's question a response also to

h er next question in which she asks

w hether or not my Committee can insist t hat the parent company of OTC should b e fully responsible for funding the

r etraining and reskilling of its

r edundant staff.

I am sure that support for training

c an and should be considered in

c onjunction with the Advisory Training C ouncil and Highlands College. As I h ave already indicated this point has

b een put to the company and I have no d oubt that nearer the time when the

r edundancies are to occur the

o pportunity will be taken to meet this

r equirement. The  States for their

p art have no power to insist that the

p arent company of OTC should be fully r esponsible for funding the retraining

a nd reskilling of its redundant staff.

B ut from the discussions that have

t aken place to date there is every

i ndication that OTC and its parent

c ompany will assist with the

r etraining and reskilling in every way

t hey can.''

Supplementary question and answer

S enator R.J. Shenton - In view of

t he fact that I have in my possession

a letter of 2nd November from the

O verseas Trading Corporation

m anagement to the staff when they say t hat phased closure will be brought in w hich is different to that which most

o f us figured at the time, was our

c oncern, I remember hearing Senator H orsfall at the time saying that

e veryone would go out of the doors in 1 992, they appear to have changed

t heir ground on this, but there is a

p assage here that says exactly when

d epartments will be closed has not

b een decided, but certainly would not b e this side of Christmas. In view of

t he fact that Christmas is only six

w eeks away, it is so close that I hope

t he President will assure me that Mr. P owell and whoever is dealing with

t his matter from his Committee will

g et into urgent discussions with the

d epartment because that is not the way t hese people want to enjoy or spend

t heir Christmas, wondering if next

w eek or the week after Christmas is

t heir time to lose their job?''

P resident, Finance and Economics

C ommittee - Mr. Powell is in close

c ontact, as I am sure the Members will u nderstand, with the managing director

o f OTC and there is a degree of

s ympathy on their part on these

m atters and I will certainly take up

t his point. It is as Senator Shenton

h as said, and I am stressing here, it

i s a phased closure, I think we all

t hought it was all going to happen in

o ne fell swoop, but whether they have c hanged their ground or not, it is now q uite clear that it was a

m isunderstanding and it is now quite d efinitely a phased closure.''

Deputy Baudains Question 4

  Given that it is intended to make

 1 70 jobs redundant in 1992, would the  P resident indicate to this House,

 g iven nil growth in 1992, whether his  C ommittee intends to relax the current  e dict in order to employ redundant

 s taff?''

President, Finance and Economics Committee

  I believe I have already answered

 t he question in my response to

 q uestion 3. There is no need to relax

 t he zero job growth policy. I would

 r epeat that if employers wish to take

 a dvantage of the labour to be made

 a vailable by the closure of OTC, or

 t he redundancies declared by Channel

 I sland Knitwear, they have only to

 a pproach my Committee. There is

 n othing in the zero job growth policy

 t hat should frustrate a change in the

 d isposition of the existing workforce.

 A lso while 1992 may be seen by some as  a difficult year for employment

 g rowth, I would mention that it is

 a lso the year when the statutory age

 f or full-time education is increased

 t o 16, and when therefore there will

 b e a once and for all reduction in the

 n umber of young persons coming on to

 t he job market. In addition there will

 b e many job vacancies to fill

 r eflecting the rate of labour turn-

o ver which is particularly high among

 i mmigrant workers.

E mployers generally have stated that i f local labour is available it is

p referred because it is more stable,

a nd I see no reason to doubt that this v iew will be reflected in a keen

i nterest in the employees to be made

r edundant, a process to which my

C ommittee will give every

e ncouragement. However, this process c annot be advanced until the programme f or the phased closure of the plant is

a greed, and the number and nature of

t he employees to be made redundant at a ny one time and the timing of their

r edundancy is known. The company has b een informed that as soon as this

s tage is reached we will be pleased to

e nter into active discussions on the

q uestion of alternative employment

o pportunities involving management,

t he employees and their

r epresentatives.

F inally, I would emphasise that there i s no question of all the staff of OTC b eing placed on the labour market at

o ne time. The management of the

c ompany has made it clear that the

c losure of the plant will be phased.''

Payments to certain old age pensioners. Questions and answers

Deputy Shirley Margaret Baudains of

St. Helier asked Senator Reginald Robert Jeune , Chairman of the Working Party on Need, the following questions

Question 1

  Will the Chairman confirm that

 w hereas persons in receipt of a Social  S ecurity old age pension benefit from  a n annual increase, pensioners who

 r eside in homes for senior citizens

 a nd hospitals have not received any

 i ncrease for two years in the sum of

£ 10.00 weekly which they receive by

 w ay of personal expenses?''

The Chairman of the Working Party on Need replied as follows -

  The Deputy is incorrect in stating

 t hat the amount of pocket money paid  t o the elderly in residential homes

 h as not been increased for two years.

I n August 1989 the Working Party On N eed considered the amount of pocket m oney paid each week as part of the n ormal annual review of welfare

b enefits, and reminded the Connétable s t hat the then £9.00 a week had remained unchanged for two years.

 T he President of the Comité de

 C onnétables wrote to me on 12th

 S eptember 1989 and stated that

  taking into consideration the cost of

 l iving increase and the United Kingdom  p ocket money allowance, the

 C onnétables agreed to augment the

a llowance by £1.00. Therefore with

 e ffect from 1st October 1989 the

 p ocket money allowance will be

£ 10.00'.

T his year the Working Party on Need

h as considered the recommendations of

t he Study Group on Benefits that the

W orking Party set up under the

c hairmanship of Mr. John Lees,

C ontroller of Social Security. The

S tudy Group recommended in respect of t he financial support for those in

n eed accommodated in residential homes a nd nursing homes that a standardised

s chedule of rates should be

e stablished on a year to year basis

t hrough the Working Party on Need.

P roposals in response to this and

r elated recommendations have been put t o the Comité de Connétable s for

c onsideration, and a reply is

c urrently awaited. The personal

a llowance to which the Deputy has

r eferred will be reviewed by the

W orking Party as part of this

e xercise. The St. Helier Community

S ervices Department recently also has a sked the Comité de Connétable s for

i ts thoughts on the level of the

p ersonal allowance. This request was

c onsidered by the Comité at its

m eeting last Saturday and the views of t he Comité are now to be submitted to t he Working Party for its

c onsideration.''

S upplementary question and answer

S enator Betty Brooke - I am pleased t o see by the end of the answer the

 t erm pocket money' had changed to

  personal allowance', I consider the

t erm pocket money' in reference to

t he elderly in care is not a term that

I like to see, one gets pocket money

a s a child, you should have a personal a llowance and I would like that term a lways to be referred to. It is

s lightly patronising, I think, if I

m ay say so.''

Question 2

  Will the Chairman give an assurance  t hat the Working Party will review the  a mount of this payment to take account

o f increased costs during the last two

 y ears?''

President, Working Party on Need

  I have no doubt that the personal

 a llowance paid should be reviewed

 r egularly together with the other

 w elfare benefits. I hope that from my  a nswer to her first question the

 D eputy will see that such a review is  v ery much in mind at the present

 t ime.''

S upplementary questions and answers

S enator R.J. Shenton - Will the

P resident accept that whatever the

r eplies have been to these questions,

I think the point made by Senator Mrs. B rooke is relevant, but I also feel

t hat what is quite relevant, I'm sure

m ost members do not need a Working P arty or anyone else to tell them the amount paid to these elderly residents i s quite frankly a disgrace, that they

s hould be paid much more, the House w ould support much more, all that I

a sk is that they recognise when

e lderly people go into residential

h omes it is nice for them to have a

l ittle bit of money to spend on those

p eople of the family who visit them

w hether it be grandchildren or other

v isitors, it is a part of our way of

a llowing them to have the dignity

w hich should come with old age and h aving done so much for the

c ommunity.''

D eputy Baudains - I would like to

t hink that when the Working Party on

N eed do consider this that a 10 per

c ent increase will not be the amount b ecause this is ridiculous, they

r eally need a lot more than 10 per

c ent, hopefully 25 per cent, or 50 per c ent?''

S enator Corrie Stein - I would like

t o ask if possible the Committee, to

n ot always refer to the United Kingdom b ecause their standard of life is a

l ot lower than it is here and I want

o ur standard of life to be reflected

i n the kind of money that those people a re receiving.''

Complaints concerning members of the States of Jersey and the Avon and Somerset Police Forces. Statement

The President of the Defence

Committee made a statement in the following terms -

  Members will recall that in 1989

 f ormer Chief Inspector Charles Edward  Q uinn made a number of complaints

 c oncerning, principally, members of

 t he States of Jersey and the Avon and

 S omerset Police Forces.

A t the request of my Committee the

H ome Office arranged for the

c omplaints to be investigated by Mr.

G .M. Jones, Deputy Chief Constable of t he Staffordshire Police. I am happy

t o say that, with one exception, they

h ave been found to be wholly

u nsubstantiated.

T he one exception concerned a senior

o fficer of the States of Jersey Police F orce whose conduct was criticised

d uring the Assize trial in 1987 of Mr. Q uinn and two other police officers. F ollowing the trial this officer has

b een disciplined.

I hope, therefore, that the matter may n ow be considered closed. I should add t hat the report enforces the trust and

c onfidence my Committee has in the

C hief Officer and his Force.'' La Grande Maison, St. Catherine, St. Martin

THE STATES, having accepted an amendment of Deputy Carlyle John Le Herissier Hinault of St. John that for the words Island Development Committee'' there should be substituted the words

Housing Committee'', adopted a proposition of the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee and agreed to transfer the administration of the dwelling house La Grande Maison, St. Catherine, St. Martin from the Agriculture and Fisheries Committee to the Housing Committee.

Policing of Roads, Parks and Sea

Beaches (Application of Fines) (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 1990. P.150/90

THE STATES, subject to the sanction

of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, adopted a Law entitled the Policing of Roads, Parks and Sea Beaches (Application of Fines) (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 1990.

Social Security Pension Scheme: extra benefits. P.151/90

THE STATES, adopting a proposition

of Senator Richard Joseph Shenton, requested the Social Security Committee to present a report to the States at the

earliest opportunity with regard to

updating their present scheme to take into account cases of hardship which are being experienced in the Island because of the low level of some pension payments, showing, inter alia, examples of how, with a slight increase in employer

contributions, extra benefits could be provided to persons of pensionable age who are solely dependent on the Social Security Scheme.

Elections for Senator or Deputy : age disqualification. P.152/90. Withdrawn

THE STATES having commenced consideration of a proposition of Senator Richard Joseph Shenton regarding age disqualification in regard to elections for Senator or Deputy , Senator Shenton withdrew the proposition.

Gluten-free foods: financial assistance. P.155/90

THE STATES adopted a proposition of

the Social Security Committee, and having noted the financial burden experienced by a very small group of persons as a result of

a clinically identified requirement for a special gluten-free diet, approved the introduction of a scheme to provide financial assistance to those persons as outlined in the report of the Social

Security Committee dated 19th July 1990.

Beau Vallon Hotel, St. Helier : purchase. P.157/90

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee -

 ( a) authorised that Committee to

p u r chase on behalf of the public f ro m Beau Vallon Limited the

p r o perty Beau Vallon Hotel,

T r in ity Hill, St. Helier, for a

c o n sideration of #655,000 with e a c h party being responsible for t h e payment of their own legal c o s ts;

( b) authorised the Island Development C o m mittee to make the necessary

f u n ds available from its capital

v o t e of credit Acquisition of

L a n d - Major Reserve'' (C0904).

 ( c) 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.

24-28 Albert Street and 3 Clearview Street, St. Helier: purchase and redevelopment. P.158/90

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee -

 ( a) approved the purchase from Mr. R a l ph Cyril Mauger of the

p r o perties, 24, 24½, 26, 28, 28½ A  lb ert Street, and 3 Clearview S t re et, St. Helier, for a

c o n sideration of #232,000 with e a c h party being responsible for t h e payment of their own legal

f e es ;

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

p a s s the necessary contract;

 ( c) authorised the Treasurer of the

S t a tes to pay the amount connected w  it h the above transaction from

th e capital vote of credit C0904

g r a nted to the Island Development C o m mittee;

 ( d) approved Drawings Nos. 401/1, 1A, 2 an d 3 showing the construction

o f t hree one-bedroomed flats and

f o u r two-bedroomed maisonettes,

f o r use as States' rental

a c c ommodation;

 ( e) authorised the Greffier of the

S t a tes to sign the said Drawings

o n behalf of the States;

 ( f) accepted the fixed price contract w  it h C.A. Mauger Limited in the s u m of #424,800 for the

c o n struction of the said flats and m  ai sonettes;

 ( g) authorised the Greffier of the S t a tes to sign the necessary

c o n tract on behalf of the States;

 ( h) approved the payment of pre- and p o s t-contract fees to the

a r ch itect in the sum of #27,824

a n d to the heating and mains

s e rv ices engineer in the sum of

# 4 , 248;

 ( i) authorised the Treasurer of the

S t a tes to pay the amounts

s p e cified in sub-paragraphs (f)

a n d (h) above at the appropriate

t im  e, out of the Housing

C o m mittee's capital vote of credit B u ilding, Purchase and

R e h abilitation of Dwellings''

( C 1 103).

Advocates (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey)

Law 1990 (Appointed Day) Act 1990. P.161/90

THE STATES, in pursuance of

paragraph (2) of Article 4 of the Advocates (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) Law 1990 made an Act entitled the Advocates (Amendment

No. 2) (Jersey) Law 1990 (Appointed Day)

Act 1990.

Amendment (No. 12) to the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey. P.163/90

THE STATES commenced consideration

of an Amendment to Standing Orders proposed by the House Committee, and accepted an amendment that in Standing Order No. 1, for paragraph (2) there should be substituted

the following paragraph -

(2) after paragraph (1) of

S t a n d ing Order No. 41 there s h a ll b e inserted the

f o ll o w ing paragraph -

( 1 A ) The Presidents of the

P o l icy and Resources Committee,

t h e Finance and Economics

C o m mittee, the Island Development C o m mittee and the Establishment

C o m mittee shall be appointed, in

t h at order, before the Presidents

o f o ther Committees and

d e le gations of the States.' ''

THE STATES, in pursuance of Articles 16 and 27 of the States of Jersey Law 1966 as amended made a Standing Order entitled Amendment (No. 12) to the Standing Orders of the States of Jersey.

St. Martin 's School: extension. P.159/90

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Education Committee -

 ( a) approved Drawings Nos. 2708/50 and 2 7 0 8/51 showing the construction