States Assembly 25th July 1995

STATES MINUTES 25t h J u l y 19 95 P ri c e : £ 1.25

T HE STATES assembled on Tuesday, 25t h July 1995 at 9.30 a.m. under

t he Presidency of the Bailiff ,

P hilip Martin Bailhache , Esquire

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All Members were present with the exception of -

S enator Richard Joseph Shenton - out of the I sland.

J ack Roche, Connétable of St. Saviour -

i ll.

T erence Augustine Le Sueur , Deputy of St. H elier - out of the Island.

D avid Leon Crespel, Deputy of St. Helier - i ll.

J ames Thomas Johns, Deputy of St. Helier - o ut of the Island.

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P r aye rs

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Jersey's Island Games Team - congratulations

The Bailiff , on behalf of the States, congratulated the Jersey Island Games team on winning the championship trophy for the second time in succession at the Games held in Gibraltar.

Subordinate legislation tabled

The following enactments were laid before the States, namely -

1 . Diseases of Animals (Importation of L ive Fish) (Amendment No. 2) ( Je r sey) Order 1995. R & O 8844.

2 . Immigration (Work Permits)

( Je r sey) Rules 1995. R & O 8845.

3 . Battle of Flowers (Jersey) Order

1995. R & O 8846. Matter presented

The following matter was presented to the States -

I nternational Covenant on Economic, S ocial and Cultural Rights: report for J ersey - R.C.19/95.

P resented by the Policy and

R esources Committee.

Matters noted - land transactions

THE STATES noted an Act of the Finance and Economics Committee dated 17th July 1995 showing that, in pursuance of Standing Orders relating

to certain transactions in land, the Committee

had approved -

( a) as recommended by the Harbours and A i r port Committee, the lease to George T r oy and Sons of the northern unit of

t he m aintenance shed at the end of the A l ber t Pier, Port of St. Helier

( L et ting No. A43b, measuring

1,380 s quare feet) for use as a

m ai ntenance base for their vehicles

us ed in connexion with the loading and di schar ge of cargo in the port area,

f or a pe riod of three years from 1st

J ul y 1995 , at an annual rent of £5,865

( repr esenting a rate of £4.25 a square

f oot );

( b) as recommended by the Harbours and

A i r port Committee, the lease to Channel I sl and s Marine (Jersey) Limited of the

s out hern unit of the maintenance shed

at t he end of the Albert Pier, Port of

S t . H elier (Letting No. A43a, measuring 1,380 s quare feet) for use as a

m ai ntenance base for their vehicles

us ed in connexion with the loading and di schar ge of cargo in the port area,

f or a pe riod of three years from 1st

J ul y 1995 , at an annual rent of

£ 6,044 .40 (representing a rate of

£ 4.38 a square foot);

( c) as recommended by the Public Health C om mittee, the lease to Mrs. Jean

P at ricia Roche, née Geary, of the

f lor ist shop at the General Hospital

f or a pe riod of three years from 1st

J ul y 1995 , at an annual rent of £4,750, and s ubject to annual review;

( d) as recommended by the Agriculture and F i sher ies Committee, the sale to Mr.

H a r old Vautier of part of Field

N o . 865, T rinity (measuring

appr oximately 1,980 square feet),

r eq uired for the purpose of

cons tructing a new driveway to the

pr op erty L'Abri'', Trinity , for the

s um of £10, subject to the Education

C om mittee meeting the costs of

cons tructing a new turning area,

bl o cking up the extinguished road

( be ing the southern part of the un-

nam ed road between Les Ruelles and La R ue du M ont Pellier, Trinity ), and

bei ng r esponsible for all the legal

f ee s associated with the transaction;

( e) as recommended by the Education

C om mittee, the purchase from the Parish of T rinity of the southern part of the

un - named road between Les Ruelles and L a R ue du Mont Pellier, Trinity ,

r eq uired to enlarge the playground of

T r ini ty School, upon the extinguishment of t hat road, for the sum of £10,

s ubj ect to the Committee being

r es pons ible for the legal fees

as soci ated with the transaction.

( T he Committee, with reference to

par agraphs (d) and (e) above, rescinded i ts A ct No. 1(c) of 3rd July 1995 which w a s presented to the States on 11th

J ul y 1995 ).

Matters noted - acceptance of tenders

THE STATES noted an Act of the Finance and Economics Committee, dated 17th July 1995, showing that, in pursuance of Rule 5 of the Public Finances (General) (Jersey) Rules 1967, as amended, the Committee had noted that -

( a) the Planning and Environment Committee had a ccepted the lowest of three

t ender s, namely that submitted by

R . and R . Building Contractors Limited

i n t he sum of £76,016 in a contract

per iod of 16 weeks for the new

C ons ervation Centre, La Mielle de

Mor ville, St. Ouen ;

( b) the Education Committee has accepted t he l  owest of five tenders, namely that

s ubm itted by Regal Construction

( Je r sey) Limited in the sum of

£ 214,9 78.77 for the temporary

cl as srooms at Le Squez School, St.

C l em ent;

( c) the Education Committee has accepted t he l owest of nine tenders, namely that s ubm itted by J.F. Marett and Son

L i m ited in the sum of £1,492,032 for

t he construction of a car park on two

l evel s and a school bus service drop-

of f col lection area on part of Field

798, L e Mont Millais, St. Saviour .

Matters lodged

The following matters were lodged au Greffe'' -

1 . Housing legislation - review:

( a ) D raft Housing (Amendment No. 8)

( Je r sey) Law 199 ; (b) Draft Housing

( G ene ral Provisions) (Amendment No. 11) ( Je r sey) Regulations 199 - P.100/95.

P r es ented by the Housing

C om mittee.

2 . Parish Rate Appeal Board:

appoi ntment of members - P.101/95. P r es ented by the Finance and

E conom ics Committee.

Arrangement of public business for the present meeting

THE STATES acceded to the request of the Connétable of St. Helier that his amendment of the proposition of the Defence Committee regarding the establishment of a town police station at 11 Royal Square and Picquet House, St. Helier (P.99/95 - lodged au Greffe'' on 11th July 1995) be withdrawn.

Nuclear shipments: petition and proposition - P.102/95

Senator Stuart Syvret presented to the States a petition on behalf of the Concerned People of Jersey that the States of Jersey should oppose nuclear shipments unless they can demonstrate no significant threat to public safety or to the environment of the Channel Islands.

The States referred the petition to the Policy

and Resources Committe and lodged au Greffe'' a proposition of Senator Stuart Syvret to the effect that the prayer of the petition be

granted.

French nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific - questions and answers (Tape No. 291)

Deputy Gary Matthews of St. Brelade asked Senator Reginald Robert Jeune , President of the Policy and Resources Committee, the following questions -

1. G iven Jersey's proximity to

F rance , and to the nearby French nuc l e ar plants at La Hague and

F lam anvi lle, does the President ag r ee t hat the States of Jersey

ha ve a p articular reason to be

co ncer ned about the testing of

F rench nuclear weapons?

2 . What steps are the Policy and Resources C om mittee, as the Committee charged

w i t h constitutional and international

m at ters, able to take to relay the

S t a tes of Jersey's formal objection to

t he r enewal of French nuclear bomb

t es t ing in the Pacific?

3 . Is the President aware that

i nt er national opinion is against

P r es ident Chirac's decision to resume

nucl ear weapons testing at the Muruoroa A t ol l? Is he also aware that any

uni lateral decision by the French is

l ikel y to endanger the proposed

r at i fication of a comprehensive test

ban t reaty, due to be signed by all the

w o r ld's nuclear powers in 1996?''

The President of the Policy and Resources Committee replied as follows -

1. I am sure that the members of this

H ous e will share in the general

co ncer n at the testing of nuclear

w eap ons by any country. I do not

thi nk t his concern should be

af f e ct e d by the Island's distance

fr om or proximity to the country

ca r r yi ng out the tests.

2 . In answering the Deputy 's question I

bel i eve it would be helpful for me to

r em ind the House of the Island's

cons titutional position vis-a-vis the

U n i ted Kingdom. The Insular Authorities have autonomy in respect of domestic

af fai rs but have no separate status in

r es pec t of international affairs from

t ha t of Her Majesty's Government. This

i s beca use it is Her Majesty's

G o ver nment that is responsible for the

I sl and 's international affairs. The

P ol icy and Resources Committee in

car r ying out its responsibilities for

cons titutional and international

m at ters bearing on the Island can only

m ake r epresentations to a foreign

count ry through Her Majesty's

G o ver nment. Likewise, when the Policy and R esources Committee is concerned w i t h international conventions,

agr eements or treaties, it either

r es ponds to approaches from Her

Maj esty's Government or makes

appr oaches to Her Majesty's Government t hr ough official channels.

A c cor dingly, if the States decided to

appr ove a formal proposition of the

D e puty to convey to the French

G o ver nment a concern at the renewal of F r en ch nuclear bomb testing in the

P aci fic, such a view would have to be conve yed to Her Majesty's Government w i t h a request for its onward

t rans mission. Whether it would be

pas sed to the French Government would depe nd in my view on the position Her Maj esty's Government wish to adopt on

t he m atter. For example, where a matter does not have a direct impact on the

I sl and and its residents, I consider it

unl ikely that Her Majesty's Government

i n e xercising its responsibility for

t he I sland in international matters

w o ul d be prepared to convey to the

F r en ch Government a view other than one w h i ch it shared. Her Majesty's

G o ver nment's current position is that,

w h i le it recognises and understands the conc ern which the French decision to

r es um e nuclear testing has caused in a num ber of countries, it does not

bel i eve it would be appropriate for Her Maj esty's Government to comment on

F r an ce's national security

ar rang ements, and how they are met.

3 . I am sure that members of the House

l ike m e have read in the press of the

pr ot ests mounted against the renewal of F r en ch nuclear bomb testing in the

P aci fic, particularly in New Zealand

and A ustralia. As far as the second

par t of the question is concerned, I am not able to comment on whether any

uni lateral decision by the French is

l ikel y to endanger the proposed

r at i fication of a Comprehensive Test

B an T reaty due to be signed by all the

Wor ld's nuclear powers in 1996. The

I sl and authorities have not been a

par ty to any discussions in this

r es pec t. However, I understand that

F r an ce remains committed to the

negot iations for a Comprehensive Test B an T reaty and that France has

i nd icated that it would be prepared to

s ign t he Treaty in Autumn 1996 if a

t ext has been agreed. I also understand

t ha t Her Majesty's Government does not acc ept that a strictly limited

pr og ramme of nuclear tests should call i nt o que stion the prospects for the

ear l y conclusion of the Treaty.''

Jersey Consumer Council: appointment of member - statement

The President of the Policy and Resources Committee made a statement in the following terms -

The House will recall that on 25th April

1 995 the establishment of a Jersey Consumer C ouncil was approved. The membership of the C ouncil consists of a chairman appointed by

t he States, namely Deputy Alan Breckon, and e ight other members appointed by the Policy

a nd Resources Committee as provided for in

t he report of the Committee dated 23rd

F ebruary 1995 (P.37).

I wish to inform the House that Mr. Robert P arker, a member of the Jersey Hotel and

G uest House Association, is no longer able t o serve on the Council because of work

c ommitments. He has been replaced by Mr. R obyn Lapidus, who is also a member of the J ersey Hotel and Guest House Association.

T he Policy and Resources Committee is most g rateful to Mr. Lapidus for agreeing to

s erve on the Council.''

Secondary education in Jersey: re-organisation - P.84/95 (Revised)

THE STATES commenced consideration of a proposition of the Education Committee regarding the re-organisation of secondary education in Jersey.

THE STATES adjourned, having agreed previously to continue consideration of the proposition on

the re-organisation of secondary education in Jersey and other outstanding items of public business on Wednesday, 26th July 1995 at 9.30 a.m.

Senator R.J. Shenton - attendance

Senator Richard Joseph Shenton, having returned to the Island during the debate on secondary education in Jersey, was present for the remainder of the meeting.

THE STATES rose at 5.40 p.m.

G .H .C . C O P P O C K G r ef fi e r of the States.