States Minutes 26th April 1994

STATES MINUTES 2 6 t h A  p ri l 1994   P ri c e : £ 1 . 0 0

T HE STATES assembled on Tuesday,  2 6th April 1994 at 9.30 a.m. under

t h e Presidency of the Bailiff ,

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

_ _ _ _ _ _ ______

All Members were present with the exception of -

S enator Terence John Le Main - out of the

I sland

S enator Antony Beresford Chinn - out of the I sland

A rthur Philip Querée, Connétable of St.

O uen - out of the Island

J ohn Nicolle Le Fondré, Deputy of St.

L awrence - ill.

M argaret Anne Le Geyt, Deputy of St.

S aviour - ill.

A listair John Layzell, Deputy of St.

B relade - out of the Island.

_ _ _ _ _ _ ______

    P r a y e rs

_ _ _ _ _ _ ______

Subordinate legislation tabled

The following enactments were laid before the States, namely -

 1 .  Police Force (General

P r o visions) (Amendment No. 5) (Jersey) O  rd er 1994. R & O 8669.

 2 .  Road Traffic (Saint Brelade)

( A m endment No. 4) (Jersey) Order 1994. R & O 8670.

 3 .  Italian Food Fair (Jersey) Order 1 9 9 4. R & 0 8671.

 4 .  Gorey Fête (Jersey) Order 1994. R & 0 8672.

 5 .  St. Clement Fête (Jersey) Order 1 9 9 4. R & 0 8673.

Matters presented

The following matters were presented to the States -

 1 .  States of Jersey Annual Report and

A  cc ounts for 1993

P r e sented by the Finance and Economics

C o m mittee. THE STATES ordered that the s a id report and accounts be printed and

d i st ributed.

 2 .  Immigration and Nationality Department: r e p ort for 1993

P r e sented by the Defence Committee. THE S T ATES ordered that the said report be

p r in ted and distributed.

3 . Prison Board: report for 1993 -

R . C .12/94

P r e sented by the Prison Board. THE

S T A TES ordered that the said report be p r in ted and distributed.

 4 .  Telecommunications Board: report and

a c c ounts for 1993

P r e sented by the Telecommunications

B o a rd. THE STATES ordered that the said r e p ort and accounts be printed and

d i st ributed.

 5 .  Agricultural Statistics 1993

P r e sented by the Agriculture and

F i s heries Commitee. THE STATES ordered t h at the said Statistics be printed and

d i st ributed.

Matters noted - land transactions

THE STATES noted an Act of the Finance and Economics Committee dated 18th April 1994, showing that in pursuance of Standing Orders relating to certain transactions in land, the Committee had approved -

( a) as recommended by the Public

S e r vices Committee, the acquisition

f ro m Mr. David Bisson of 1,291 square f e et of land at La Tour Farm, St.

C l e ment, required for road improvement p u r poses, for a consideration of

£1 , 291, subject to the Committee being r e sp onsible for all the necessary

a c c ommodation works involved and for a l l legal costs involved in the

t ra n saction;

( b) as recommended by the Harbours and

A  ir port Committee, the lease to Channel

I s la nd Handling Limited (Emeraude

F e r ries) of office accommodation

( L e tting No. A24A) measuring 664 square f e et beneath the walks on the Albert

P i e r, St. Helier Harbour, for a period

o f n ine years from 1st April 1994, at

a n a nnual rent of £4,338.04

( re p resenting a rate of £6.53 a square

f o o t), payable quarterly in advance and

s u b ject to annual review on 1st

N  o vember.

Matters lodged

The following subjects were lodged au Greffe'' -

 1 .  Draft Gambling (Channel Islands

L o t tery) (Amendment No. 2) (Jersey) R e g ulations 199 - P.52/94.

P r e sented by the Gambling

C o n trol Committee.

 2 .  Draft Inquests and Post Mortem

E x a minations (Jersey) Law 199 - P . 5 3/94.

P r e sented by the Legislation

C o m mittee.

3 . Planning and building control c h a rges - P.54/94.

P r e sented by the Island

D  ev elopment Committee.

 4 .  Draft Policing of Roads

( A m endment No. 5) (Jersey) Regulations 1 9 9 - P.55/94.

P r e sented by the Defence

C o m mittee.

5 . Côte du Nord Hotel, Trinity : p e ti tion - P.56/94.

P r e sented by Deputy I.S.

N  ic holls of Grouville .

6 . Abortion Law reform (P.30/94): s e c ond amendments - P.58/94.

P r e sented by Deputy I.S.

N  ic holls of Grouville .

7 . Abortion Law reform (P.30/94): t h ir d amendments - P.59/94.

P r e sented by Deputy I.S.

N  ic holls of Grouville .

Arrangement of public business for the present meeting

THE STATES acceded to the request of the Connétable of St. John that consideration of the proposition regarding the Parish rates review (P.124/93 - lodged "au Greffe" on 24th August 1993) be deferred from the present meeting to a later date.

THE STATES noted that Senator Vernon Amy Tomes had not lodged his proposition regarding the

conduct of proceedings with regard to the

Committee of Inquiry into the circumstances

leading to the release from contract of the

former Chief Executive Officer of the Sport,

Leisure and Recreation Department and acceded to his request that the proposition be debated at

the present meeting.

Arrangement of public business for the next meeting on 10th May 1994

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

the next meeting on 10th May 1994 -

A bortion Law reform - P.30/94. L odged: 15th March 1994.

P ublic Health Committee.

A bortion Law reform (P.30/94):

a mendments - P.49/94.

L odged: 12 April 1994.

D eputy G. Matthews of St. Brelade.

A bortion Law reform (P.30/94): second a mendments - P.58/94.

L odged: 26th April 1994

D eputy I.S. Nicholls of Grouville . A bortion Law reform (P.30/94): third a mendments - P.59/94.

L odged: 26th April 1994

D eputy I.S. Nicholls of Grouville .

J ersey Kart and Motor Club: 1994 r acing programme at Belle Vue, St. B relade - P.48/94.

 L odged: 12th April 1994.

 S port, Leisure and Recreation

C o m mittee.

D raft Licensing (No. 8) (Jersey) R egulations 199 - P.33/94.

L odged: 15th March 1994.

T ourism Committee.

D raft Policing of Roads (Amendment N o. 5) (Jersey) Regulations 199 -

P .55/94.

D efence Committee.

Côte du Nord Hotel, Trinity : petition. P.56/94

Deputy Imogen Stephanie Nicholls of Grouville presented to the States a petition of Mr.

Leonard Richard Weithley asking the States to request the Island Development Committee, as a matter of urgency, to revoke the development permit granted for the construction of an extension to the Côte du Nord Hotel, La Route de Rozel, Trinity .

THE STATES referred the said petiton to the Island Development Committee and lodged the proposition au Greffe''.

Income tax collection - question (Tape No. 230)

Deputy James Thomas Johns of St. Helier asked Senator Pierre François Horsfall, President of the Finance and Economics Committee, the following question -

1.  O n 28th July 1992, former Deputy

M . C . B uesnel lodged au Greffe''

a p r o p osition (P.109/92)

re q u e s ting the Finance and

E c o n o mics Committee to prepare

le g i sl a tion to implement a new

sc h e m  e of income tax collection.

T h e p r oposition was referred to

th e C o mmittee to prepare a report.

O n 2 8 th September 1993, in

re s p o n se to a question from Deputy B u e s n el, the President advised him th a t t h e Committee's report would n o t b e ready to be presented to

th e S ta tes before the end of

Ja n u a r y 1994.

W  o uld the President now advise the S t a tes what is the current state of

p r o gress in the preparation of the

r e p ort?

The President of the Finance and Economics Committee informed the Assembly that he would answer the question at the next meeting.

Abortion Law Reform (Tape No. 230)

Deputy Evelyn Mabel Pullin of St. Saviour asked the Connétable of St. Saviour, President of the Public Health Committee, the following questions -

1.  I n his foreword to the Public

H e a lt h Committee's paper

A b o r tion in Jersey: Discussion p ap e r '' (R.C. 23/93), the

P re s i d ent recognised that there w e r e serious moral and ethical is s u e s inherent in the

co n s i d eration of this sensitive

su b j e c t'' but added that this

b ri e f d iscussion paper does not at t em  p t to address them?

( a ) Would the President explain why th e p ro jet Abortion Law Reform'' (P . 3 0 /6 4) recently lodged au

G r e ff e '' by the Public Health

C o m m  ittee does not contain a

co n s i d eration of such matters?

( b ) Would the President explain, in p ar t ic u lar, why there is no

r e ference to the unborn child at al l i n t he projet, save in

re l a ti o n to the handicapped?

 2 .  Projet 30/94 identifies that 64

s u b missions have been received

f o ll owing publication of the Discussion P a p er -

( a ) Why does the Committee conclude th a t t h is number is too small for

it t o d r aw any conclusions

(p a r a g raph 14 of the Committee's

re p o r t in P.30/94)?

( b ) What basis did the Committee use to d e ci de that the arguments

p re s e n ted were of quality''

(s a m e paragraph)?

( c ) Will the President publish a

su m  m a ry of the submissions and the re c o m  mendations or comments made b y c o n tributors so that States

M e m  b ers might be better informed

fo r t h e eventual debate of the

P ro j e t?

( d ) Will the President tell the House w h a t s teps have been taken to see in o p e ration French Laws that are p ro p o s ed as a model for Jersey?

 3 .  Is it envisaged that abortifacient

d r u gs such as RU486 will be made a v a ilable in Jersey?''

The President of the Public Health Committee replied as follows -

  1.(a) The question refers to the first

s e n te n c e in the second paragraph

o f t h e F oreword to the Discussion

P a p e r Abortion in Jersey''

( R . C .2 3 /93) and ignores the

s e c o n d sentence. For the sake of

c l ar i ty I will quote the

p a r a g ra ph in full -

I t is recognised that there are serious

e t hi cal and moral issues inherent in

t h e consideration of this sensitive

s u b ject but this brief discussion paper d o e s not attempt to address them.

H  o wever, attached as an appendix is a c o p y of the text of a talk given by

L a d y Helen Oppenheimer, the eminent t h eo logian, which deals with those

i ss u es admirably and in some detail.

T h e reason for quoting Lady Oppenheimer w  as that the Jersey Council of

C h u rches' Sub-Committee chose her to

a d d ress them, as a most learned moral t h eo logian. My Committee read her work a n d decided that it could do no better

t h an to quote her address in full as an

a p p endix.  States Members are strongly u r g ed to re-read the text of her talk

w  h ich is reproduced on pages 38 to 44

o f t he present report.

 ( b) The word foetus'', rather than the

e x p ression unborn child'', was chosen a t p roposition 1(c) as that is the

t e ch nical term used to describe the

u n b orn child at that particular stage

o f i ts development. As Deputy Pullin

s ta t es, the term unborn child'' is

u s e d in paragraph 29 of the report in

r e la tion to the handicapped.

T h e rights of the unborn child and the

m  o ther are inextricably linked and the

m  o ral and ethical issues which abortion

r a is es were, in the opinion of my

C o m mittee, dealt with admirably by Lady O p penheimer. My Committee concurred w it h her views.

 2 .(a)  In 1991, there were over 65,000

re s id e n t adults in Jersey. 64

su b m  is sions were not considered to b e a l a rge enough sample on which to b a se a conclusion as to the

g en e r a l public's opinion even

ac c e p t ing that 13 of the

su b m  is sions were from the

o rg a n i sations referred to in

A p p e n dix III on page 49. If one

in c l u d es the 109 women who

su b s e q uently contacted me direct,

th e n u mber of responses was still

co n s i d ered to be too small to form a s ta t is tical base.

 ( b) The expression quality'' was used as

t h e opposite of quantity''. My

C o m mittee simply wished to give credit

t o t he many thoughtful and helpful

c o m ments which had been made by those w  h o had taken the time and trouble to

r e sp ond to its invitation to submit

v i ew s.

 ( c) A fuller summary of the submissions t h an that given in paragraphs 15 to 19 i s a ppended to these answers.

 ( d) The Committee's Chief Executive

O  ff icer, Medical Officer of Health and

L e g islation Officer went to France in

D  ec ember, 1993, on a two-day visit and m  et with a Deputy Regional Medical

O  ff icer of Health, two gynaecologists,

a p a ediatrician, a midwife and a family

p l an ning counsellor. Extensive

d i sc ussions took place on the operation

a n d experience of the 18-year-old

F r e nch Abortion Law. I would, however, d r a w attention to the fact that the

p r o posals of the Public Health

C o m mittee do not mirror the French law a l th ough they do include certain

f e at ures of it. In this context, my

C o m mittee is indebted to the Sub-

C o m mittee of the Jersey Council of

C h u rches for its helpful research of

r e le vant French legislation.

 3 .  RU486 is a synthetic hormone which

p r e vents or disrupts implantation of

t h e embryo in the womb. It is envisaged t h at one or more abortifacient drugs

f o r use by approved registered medical p r a ctitioners will be made available.''

Public Employees Contributory Retirement Scheme Committee of Management: membership

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Establishment Committee, and in accordance with Regulation 3(5) of the Public Employees (Contributory Retirement Scheme) (General) (Jersey) Regulations 1989, as amended, approved the appointment of Senator Antony Beresford Chinn as an employer representative on the Committee of Management for the period ending 31st December 1994, in place of Deputy Derek Ryder Maltwood of St. Mary .

Oakwell Respite Home, St. Brelade : acquisition - P.38/94

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Education Committee -

 ( a) authorised the purchase on behalf of

t h e public from Heart of Variety (C.I.) I n c orporated, of the property known as O ak well, Park Estate, St. Brelade for a s u m of £207,008, with the public being r e sp onsible for the vendor's legal

f e es ;

 ( b) authorised the Attorney General and the G  re ffier of the States to pass, on

b e h alf of the public, any contract

w  h ich it might be found necessary to

p a s s in connexion with the said

p r o perty and any interest therein;

 ( c) authorised the payment or discharge of a n y expenses to be incurred in

c o n nexion with the acquisition of the

s a id property and of all interests

t h er ein, and of the payment of all

l e ga l expenses, from the Island

D ev elopment Committee's vote of credit A c quisition of Land - Major Reserve'

( C 0 904);

 ( d) rescinded their Act dated 11th November 1 9 9 2.

Grands Vaux Community Centre, St. Saviour - P.41/94

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Island Development Committee, decided to support the Island Development Committee's intention to

grant planning permission for the development of the Grands Vaux Community Centre, St. Saviour , to include new pitched roofs and the

construction of an extension to form a new

sports hall and community room on land that is situated within an area designated as Green Zone on the Island Map 1-87, as amended, as shown on drawing No. 427/1.

Gambling (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 1994 - P.42/94

THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, adopted a Law entitled the Gambling (Amendment No. 3) (Jersey) Law 1994.

Jersey Association for Youth and Friendship: loan - P.44/94

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Finance and Economics Committee -

 ( a) approved the granting of a loan to the J e rs ey Association for Youth and

F r ie ndship for the purpose of assisting w  it h the renovation and refurbishment

o f L yndale Girls' Hostel, St. Helier .

 ( b) agreed that the loan should be

£3 6 ,833.00 on a £ for £ basis, and

s h o uld bear interest at four per cent a

y e a r and should be repayable in equal

a n n ual instalments over a period of

f if te en years commencing one year after t h e granting of the loan.

La Motte Garages, La Rue à Don, Grouville : lease - P.45/9

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee -

 ( a) agreed to the lease to La Motte Ford

L i m ited of the site of La Motte Ford

G  ar age at La Rue à Don, Grouville , for a p e riod of one year commencing 25th M  a rch 1994 at an annual rent of

£3 6 ,120;

 ( b) authorised the Greffier of the States t o s ign the necessary lease with the

c o m pany;

 ( c) authorised the Treasurer of the States t o r eceive the rent as it becomes due.

Leonard Norman Close, St. Saviour : sale to Les Vaux Housing Trust - P.46/94

THE STATES, adopting a proposition of the Housing Committee -

 ( a) approved the sale of the freehold of

L e o nard Norman Close, off Belvedere

H  il l, St. Saviour , a completed

d e v elopment of one three-bedroom, seven t w o -bedroom and four one-bedroom

d w  ellings, to Les Vaux Housing Trust

f o r a consideration of £1,000,000, with

e a c h party being responsible for the

p a y ment of its own legal costs;

 ( b) authorised the Attorney General and the G  re ffier of the States to pass the

n e c essary contracts;

 ( c) authorised the Treasurer of the States t o r eceive the amount connected with t h e above transaction.

Boats and Surf-Riding (Control) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Regulations 1994 - P.47/94

THE STATES, in pursuance of Article 49 of the Harbours (Administration) (Jersey) Law 1961, made Regulations entitled the Boats and Surf- Riding (Control) (Amendment No. 10) (Jersey) Regulations 1994.

Committee of Inquiry into circumstances leading to the release from contract of former Chief Executive Officer of Sport, Leisure and Recreation Department: conduct of proceedings.

THE STATES rejected the proposition of Senator Vernon Amy Tomes to request the Committee of Inquiry into the circumstances which led to Miss Mary Frances Alexander, Chief Executive Officer, Sport, Leisure and Recreation Department, being released from her contract -

 ( a) to make available to Miss Alexander f u ll details of the allegations made

a g a inst her and the evidence in support t h er eof.

 ( b) that Miss Alexander shall be entitled t o l egal representation at all public

o r a l hearings conducted by the

C o m mittee;

 ( c) that the former President of the

E s t ablishment Committee and the

P r e sident and all members of the former S p o rt, Leisure and Recreation

C o m mittee, and any other material

w  it nesses nominated by Miss Alexander, s h a ll be called to give evidence at

p u b lic oral hearings;

 ( d) that Miss Alexander shall have the

o p p ortunity of testing by cross-

e x a mination conducted by her own c o u nsel all evidence given at public

o r a l hearings;

 ( e) that all evidence at the public oral h e a rings shall be given on oath.

 ( f) that all written evidence previously

g i v en shall be made publicly available d u r ing the course of the hearings.

Members present voted as follows -

P o u r'' (16) Senators

 S yvret, Tomes. Connétable s

S t. Clement, Grouville , St. Helier, St. S aviour, Trinity .

Deputies

W avell(S), St. John, H.Baudains(C), C arter(H), Johns(H), Duhamel(S), M atthews(B), Grouville , Huet(H).

C o n tre'' (29) Senators

J eune, Horsfall, Rothwell, Le Maistre, S tein, Quérée, Bailhache .

Connétable s

S t. John, St. Lawrence, St. Mary, St. B relade, St. Peter.

Deputies

R umboll(H), Norman(C), St. Peter, Le

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

H uelin(B), St. Mary, S.Baudains(H),

W alker(H), Crespel(H), Pullin(S), Trinity , R outier(H), Dorey(H), Breckon(S), St.

M artin.

THE STATES rose at 1.02 p.m.

  C .M  . N  E W  C O M BE D e p u ty Greffier of the States.