States Minutes 31st March 1992

STATES MINUTES 31s t M ar c h 1992

 P ri c e : £ 1.00

T HE STATES assembled on Tuesday, 3 1st March 1992 at 9.30 a.m. under

t he Presidency of the Bailiff ,

S i r P eter Crill, C.B.E.

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His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor, A ir Marshal Sir John Sutton, K.C.B.

w as pr e sent.

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All Members were present with the exception of -

S enator Bernard Thomas Binnington - out of t he Island.

J ohn Pepin Le Sueur , Connétable of St.

J ohn - out of the Island.

J ohn Le Gallais, Deputy of St. Saviour -

o ut of the Island.

M argaret Sylvia Rose Beadle, Deputy of St. B relade - out of the Island.

R onald Winter Blampied, Deputy of St.

H elier - ill.

R ichard Peter Clarke-Halifax, Deputy of St. S aviour - out of the Island.

F rank Harris on Walker , Deputy of St.

H elier - out of the Island.

S tuart Syvret, Deputy of St. Helier - out

o f the Island.

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P r aye rs

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Distinguished visitors - welcome

The Bailiff welcomed to the States Mr. Nicholas Hood, Chairman, Mr. Colin Skellett, Chief Executive and Mr. Nicholas Wheatley, Director of Finance of the Wessex Water Authority.

Subordinate legislation tabled

The following enactments were laid before the States, namely -

1 . Airport Dues (Tariff)

( A m endment) (Jersey) Order 1992 R & O 8361.

2 . Companies (Overseas Branch R egi sters) (Jersey) Order 1992 R & O 8362.

3 . Road Traffic (Speed Limits)

( A m endment No. 4) (Jersey) Order 1992 R & O 8363.

4 . Road Traffic (Pedestrian Roads)

( S ai nt Helier) (Amendment) (Jersey) O r der 1992 R & O 8364.

5 . Road Traffic (Saint Helier)

( A m endment No. 17) (Jersey) Order 1992 R & O 8365.

6 . Telecommunications (Telephones)

( A m endment No. 18) (Jersey) Order 1992 R & O 8366.

Sport, Leisure and Recreation Committee - appointment of member

THE STATES, appointed Francis Herbert Amy, Connétable of Grouville as a member of the Sport, Leisure and Recreation Committee.

Solicitors' rôle and qualifying examination. R.C.10/92

The Legislation Committee by Act dated 16th March 1992 presented to the States a report of the Working Party to consider the rôle of solicitors and the qualifying examinations for solicitors.

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

Rôle of solicitors and the qualifying examinations for solicitors - statement

The President of the Legislation Committee made a statement in the following terms -

My Committee has today presented to the S tates the report of the working party

e stablished to consider the rôle of

s olicitors and the qualifying examinations f or solicitors (R.C.10 of 1992). Having

g iven preliminary consideration to the

r eport my Committee decided that it would

b e desirable to make the report public and

t o invite comments not only from the legal

p rofession but also from any interested

p arty. I believe that the report deserves

c areful study and I hope that members will

f ind time to let me have their views. Any

c omments should be addressed to my

C ommittee's Clerk at the States' Greffe and

s hould be received before 30th June 1992.

i t is my intention that the recommendations

o f the working party, together with any

c omments received from Members and from the p ublic, should then be given detailed

c onsideration, by my Committee.''

Homelessness in Jersey R.C.11/92

The Finance and Economics Committee by Act dated 23rd March 1992 presented to the States a report

of the Working Party on Homelessness.

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

Regulation of Undertakings and Development Law: quarterly manpower returns. R.C.12/92

The Finance and Economics Committee by Act dated 23rd March 1992, presented to the States a

report covering the quarterly manpower returns provided under Article 2A of the Regulation of Undertakings and Development (Jersey) Law 1973, as amended, for the quarter ended 31st December 1991.

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

Regulation of Undertakings and Development Law: policy statement. R.C.13/92

The Finance and Economics Committee by Act dated 23rd March 1992 presented to the States a policy statement regarding the application of

the Regulation of Undertakings and Development (Jersey) Law 1973, as amended.

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

Review of the Housing Regulations. R.C.13/92

The Housing Committee by Act dated 13th March 1992 presented to the States a consultative

paper regarding a review of the Housing

Regulations.

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

Matters lodged

The following subjects were lodged au Greffe'' -

1 . Draft Criminal Justice

( A nony mity in Rape Cases) (Jersey) Law 199 P .42/92.

P r es ented by the Legislation

C om mittee.

2 . Draft Advocates (Amendment

N o . 3 ) (Jersey) Law 199 P.43/92. P r es ented by the Legislation

C om mittee.

3 . Draft Milk (Sale to Special

C l as ses) (Jersey) Regulations 199 P .44/ 92.

P r es ented by the Social Security C om mittee.

4 . Draft European Communities

( W ine) (Jersey) Regulations 199 P .45/ 92.

P r es ented by the Finance and

E conom ics Committee.

5 . Draft Dwelling-Houses (Rent

C ont rol) (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Law 199 P .46/92.

P r es ented by the Housing

C om mittee.

Arrangement of Public Business for the next Sitting on 14th April 1992

THE STATES confirmed that the following subjects lodged au Greffe'' should be considered at the

next Sitting on 14th April 1992 -

F ield 748, St. Lawrence : development P .38/92

L odged: 17th March 1992

D eputy S.M. Baudains of St. Helier .

D raft Criminal Justice (Anonymity in R ape Cases) (Jersey) Law 199 P.42/92 L egislation Committee.

D raft Milk (Sale to Special Classes) ( Jersey) Regulations 199 P.44/92

S ocial Security Committee.

D raft European Communities (Wine) ( Jersey) Regulations 199 P.45/92

F inance and Economics Committee.

D raft Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control)

( Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) Law 199 P.46/92 H ousing Committee.

Regulation of Undertakings and Development Law 1973. Questions and answers

Senator John Stephen Rothwell asked Senator Pierre François Horsfall, President of the Finance and Economics Committee the following question -

Because of the adverse effects of the

p resent recession on trade and employment w ithin the Island, would the President

a gree that it would be in the Island's best

i nterests not to issue any more licences

u nder the Regulation of Undertakings and D evelopment (Jersey) Law, 1973, to non- r esident traders such as the British

c ompany which recently held huge sales at t he Grand Hotel and Fort Regent?''

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

The Finance and Economics Committee is

r equired to give full and proper

c onsideration to each and every application

r eceived under the Regulation of

U ndertakings and Development (Jersey) Law, 1 973, as amended. Article 5(2) of that Law

p rovides that the Committee in deciding

w hether to grant a licence, to impose

c onditions or to refuse to grant a licence,

s hall have regard to the need to regulate

a nd manage demand on the resources of the

I sland, and to protect the integrity of the

I sland in commercial and financial matters.

T he Committee is advised that, if an

u ndertaking to be carried on in the Island

p laces no demand on the resources of the

I sland nor is in conflict with the

i ntegrity of the Island in commercial and

f inancial matters, it cannot refuse to

g rant the licence applied for. The

C ommittee therefore has no power to refuse a n application such as that made by the

B ritish company which recently held a sale

o f carpets at the Grand Hotel and last week h eld a sale of carpets and furnishings at

F ort Regent.

A non-resident trader of goods is required

t o obtain a licence under the Hawkers and

N on-Resident Traders (Jersey) Law 1965, and m y Committee is currently exploring

w hether, through an amendment to that Law, t he present fee of £1000 for such a licence

c ould be increased. If, however, the

S enator or others would wish to provide

l ocal traders with greater protection from

c ompetition from non-resident traders then

t his could only be achieved through new

l egislation.''

Judicial fees payable by first-time buyers of homes in Jersey. Questions and answers

Deputy Robin Ernest Richard Rumboll of St. Helier asked Senator Pierre François Horsfall, President of the Finance and Economics Committee the following questions -

1. I s the President aware that

fol low ing the increase in the

fi na nci al limits of the Building

L oa ns R egulations, a number of

tr an sact ions involving first time

buy er s for considerations

m ar gi na lly in excess of £100,000 no l onge r qualify for abatement to the J u di cial fees payable?

2 . Will the President undertake to amend t he appr opriate Judicial Fees

R egul ations to ensure that all first-

t im e buyers of homes in Jersey who

qual ify under the Building Loans

R egul ations will in future qualify for

abat ement to the Judicial fees payable?

3 . In the event that the Judicial Fees

R egul ations be amended in line with my pr e vious question, will the President

under take to ensure that those first-

t im e buyers who have acquired

pr op erties since the changes to the

B ui lding Loans Regulations, and who

have not been eligible for the

abat ement, will be entitled to a refund

of a ny excess Judicial fees so paid?''

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

1. I am aware that there is presently

no a bat ement of legal fees for

fi rs t -t i me buyers in relation to

the ac qui sition of properties

ex ceed ing £100,000 in value and rel a te d bor rowings. The existing

ex em pt ion did not extend solely to pur cha ses which qualified for a loan un der the Building Loans

R egu lat ions but to all purchases

by f ir s t-time buyers which did not ex ceed £100,000 in value. The

ef f e ct of the recent change to the

B ui l di ng Loans Regulations has

be en t o al low a loan of up to

£ 90 ,000 t o be made on a property of any v alue. Where the value of the pr oper ty exceeds £100,000 then the r educ ed stamp duty is not ap pl i cab le at the moment even when a S t at es ' loan is granted.

2 . The Judicial Greffier is presently

com piling a report to the Finance and

E conom ics Committee in relation to

t he s e matters and has already been in

cor respondence with the Housing

D e par tment. Although some change in the J udi cial Fees Regulations appears

des irable, the precise form of that

chan ge raises complex issues. It may be

t ha t there ought to be an increase in

t he l  imit on the value of the property

w h i ch would qualify for a reduced stamp dut y. It may be that all first-time

buyer s should continue to be treated

al i ke rather than merely those

obt aining a States' loan receiving the

bene fit of reduced stamp duty, as

i m pl ied in the question. The Finance

and E conomics Committee will need to

cons ider the revenue implications of

any c hange.

3 . As I have already indicated the

C om mittee is to consider the matter

f ul l y once the Judicial Greffier's

r ep ort is to hand and the issue of

back -dating will be considered at that t im e.''

Dégrèvement procedure. Statement

The President of the Legislation Committee made a statement in the following terms -

On 21st January 1992, in response to

ques tions from Senator R.J. Shenton

r eg arding the dégrèvement procedure I

gave an assurance that the Legislation

C om mittee would examine the question of w h et her any difficulties were being

expe rienced in the implementation of

t he pr ovisions within the Bankruptcy L aw regarding the preservation of equi ty.

M y Committee has now concluded its

i nvestigations and is satisfied that the

B ankruptcy Law does not prevent a debtor f rom preserving the equity in any property w hich he may own at the time of the

i nitiation of bankruptcy proceedings

a gainst him.''

Rent Control Tribunal: appointment of Members

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee appointed, in pursuance of paragraph (1) of Article 3 of the Dwelling- Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey) Law 1946, as amended, the following persons to act as Chairman and members of the Rent Control Tribunal until 11th April 1993, namely -

H e nr y Robert Hall , O.B.E., Chairman Mr s . Evelyn Mabel Pullin

L eslie R. Crapp

T er ence Lavery.

General Hospital Pathology and Audiology Departments: approval of Drawings

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Public Health Committee -

( a) approved Drawing Nos. JH PATH 100/2, 4, 6, and 8, 50/1, 2, and JHSPG 250/1

s how ing the proposed Audiology

D e par tment and extension to the

P at hology Department at the General

H o s pital;

( b) authorised the Greffier of the States t o s ign the said Drawings on behalf of t he S tates.

States of Jersey Airport: opening time

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Harbours and Airport Committee agreed to refer to their Act of 27th September 1988 and to amend that Act by the inclusion of the following sub- paragraph -

( c) to allow certain jet aircraft to fly

out of the Island from 07.15 hours

l oc al time, with the exception of BAC 1 - 11 's and DC-9 series aircraft which

s hal l not start flying operations bef ore 07.30 hours local time.

Clos du Fort Phase II: development. P.35/92

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee -

( a) approved Drawings

N o s . 2857/4.5B /5C/23B /24A/28-35 /44- 48/ 54-59, showing the development of

t he f ormer Norman's Timber Yard site,

P i e r Road, to provide two bedsitters,

24 one -bedroomed flats and 30 two-

bedr oomed flats;

( b) authorised the Greffier of the States t o s ign the said Drawings on behalf of t he S tates.

Loi (1992) (Amendement No. 4) sur l'Instruction Primaire. P.37/92

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council adopted a Law entitled the Loi (1992) (Amendement No. 4) sur l'Instruction Primaire.

Social Security Convention with Barbados. P.40/92

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Social Security Committee made an Act entitled the Family Allowances and Social Security (Reciprocal Agreement with Barbados) (Jersey) Act 1992.

Health Care Protocol with Barbados. P.41/92

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Public Health Committee made an Act with regard to a Reciprocal Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Kingdom and Northern Ireland and the Government of Barbados

concerning Health Care.

Food and Drugs (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 1992. P.31/92

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council adopted a Law entitled the Food and Drugs (Amendment) (Jersey) Law 1992.

Maternity Rights: code of practice. P.32/92

THE STATES commenced consideration of a proposition of Senator Corrie Stein regarding the approval of a voluntary Code of Good Practice for Maternity Rights in Jersey. Deputy Leonard Norman of St. Clement moved that the proposition be referred back. Senator Richard Joseph Shenton asked that his dissent from this proposition be recorded. After discussion Senator Stein agreed to take back the proposition for further consideration.

Shell-Fish (Underwater Fishing) (Jersey) Regulations 1992. P.33/92

THE STATES, by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by the Order in Council of the fourteenth day of April 1884, made Regulations entitled the Shell-Fish (Underwater Fishing) (Jersey) Regulations 1992.

Règlements (1992) sur le Marquage d'Oeufs. P.34/92

THE STATES, by virtue and in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by the Order in Council of the fourteenth day of April 1884, made Regulations entitled Règlements (1992) sur le Marquage d'Oeufs.

Housing: strategy for the 90's: supplementary report. P.23/92

THE STATES commenced consideration of a proposition of the Housing Committee regarding a Housing strategy for the 90's.

Paragraph 1(i) was adopted. Members present voted as follows -

 P our ' ' (33)

Senators

J eune, Horsfall, Baal, Rothwell, Le M aistre, Quérée, Chinn.

Connétable s

S t. Peter, St. Helier , St. Clement , St.

L awrence, St. Mary , St. Ouen , St. Brelade , S t. Martin, Grouville .

Deputies

R oche(S), Trinity , Rumboll(H), Norman(C), S t. John, St. Peter , Baudains(C), Le

S ueur(H), St. Ouen , Coutanche(L),

H uelin(B), Jordan(B), St. Mary ,

B audains(H), Le Fondré(L), St. Martin , C respel(H).

C ont r e'' (9)

Senators

S henton, Le Main, Carter, Stein.

Deputies

W avell(S), Buesnel(H), Bailhache (H), G rouville, Le Geyt(S).

Paragraph 1(ii) was adopted.

Paragraphs 1(iii) and 1(iv) were adopted. Members present voted as follows -

 P our ' ' (23)

Senators

B aal, Chinn.

Connétable s

S t. Helier, St. Clement , St. Lawrence , St. M ary, St. Brelade , St. Martin .

Deputies

R oche(S), Trinity , Rumboll(H), Norman(C), S t. John, St. Peter , Le Sueur (H), St. Ouen ,

C outanche(L), Huelin(B), Jordan(B), St.

M ary, Baudains(H), St. Martin , Crespel(H).

C ont r e'' (19)

Senators

S henton, Jeune , Horsfall, Rothwell, Le M ain, Le Maistre, Carter, Stein, Quérée.

Connétable s

S t. Peter, St. Ouen , Grouville .

Deputies

W avell(S), Baudains(C), Buesnel(H),

B ailhache(H), Grouville , Le Fondré(L), Le G eyt(S).

Paragraph 1(v) was adopted. Members present voted as follows -

 P our ' ' (25)

Senators

B aal, Chinn.

Connétable s

S t. Peter, St. Helier , St. Clement , St. L awrence, St. Mary , St. Brelade , St. M artin.

Deputies

R oche(S), Trinity , Rumboll(H), Norman(C), S t. John, St. Peter , Le Sueur (H), St. Ouen ,

C outanche(L), Huelin(B), Jordan(B), St.

M ary, Baudains(H), Le Fondré(L), St.

M artin, Crespel(H).

C ont r e'' (17)

Senators

S henton, Jeune , Horsfall, Rothwell, Le M ain, Le Maistre, Carter, Stein, Quérée.

Connétable s

S t. Ouen, Grouville .

Deputies

W avell(S), Baudains(C), Buesnel(H), B ailhache(H), Grouville , Le Geyt(S).

Paragraphs 1(vi), 2 and 3 were adopted.

THE STATES, adopting paragraphs (1) to (3) -

1 . (i) approved the revised tenant

co nt r ibu tions to rent outlined in pa r agr aph 9(i) of the report dated 14t h F ebruary 1992;

( ii ) agr eed to remove maximum rents

fr om A pril 1993, with the

ex cept ion of properties at

N i chol son Park and Elysée Estate, w hi ch w ill remain on the maximum rent s tr ucture until they have

be en r ef urbished;

( ii i) agr eed to phase out the earned inco m e al lowance during the

p er i od A pril 1993 to April

1 997;

( iv ) agreed to phase out the child

al l o w a nce during the period April 199 3 t o April 1997;

( v ) agreed that in April 1993

s ur c har ges' or reductions in rent

su bs i dy due to adult children'

li vi ng a t home should be £10 a

w eek f or each child aged 18 to 24 an d £ 20 a week for each child aged 25 a nd ove r;

( vi ) requested the Social Security

C om m ittee to take into

co ns i der ation the reduction in

su bs i di es in (iii) and (iv) above,

w hen r ecommending the levels of fam il y al lowance to be paid each ye ar ;

2 . agreed that from April 1995 all States'

t enant s on incomes of £500 a week in

1991 v alues, suitably adjusted for

i nf l ation, will pay a rent equal to

one -quarter of income or the fair rent

f or t he property occupied, whichever is

t he higher, subject to those tenants

havi ng the right to claim back monies

pai d t o the Committee over and above

t he f air rent if they move out of

S t a tes' accommodation within a period

of f ive years; and subject also to the

H o us ing Committee exercising discretion i n i ndividual cases of hardship to

w a i ve this provision;

3 . agreed that with effect from April 1993 r eb ates payable to private tenants

under the terms of the private sector

r en t rebate scheme be equal to

s ubs idies paid to States' tenants under

t he r ent abatement scheme, with the

exce ption of the earned income

al l ow ance.

THE STATES rose at 3.45 p.m.

R .S . G R A Y G r ef fi e r of the States.