PPC Minutes 20th October 2004

IC/PH/329 271

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE (26th Meeting)

20th October 2004

PART A

All  members  were  present,  with  the  exception  of  Senator  P.V.F.  Le  Claire  and Deputies J-A. Bridge and J.A. Bernstein, from whom apologies had been received.

Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier Connétable D.F. Gray Deputy P.N. Troy Deputy C.J. Scott - Warr en

In attendance -

M.N. de la Haye, Greffier of the States I. Clarkson, Committee Clerk

Note: The Minutes of this meeting comprise Part A and Part B.

Shadow Public A1. The Committee received an Amendment to the draft States of Jersey Law Accounts 200-, as lodged au Greffe' by Deputy S.C. Ferguson.

Committee:

membership – The Committee received a delegation consisting of Deputy S.C. Ferguson, Shadow exclusion of Chairman,  Shadow  Public  Accounts  Committee,  and  Mr.  T.  Dunningham, Chairmen of Chairman, Shadow Public Accounts Committee.

Shadow Scrutiny

Panels. It was clarified that the effect of the Amendment brought by Deputy S.C. Ferguson 570/1(2) would be to require that the Public Accounts Committee be made up of elected

members, who were not Ministers or Assistant Ministers, and persons who were not Clerk members of the States, in equal measure. Whilst the Chairmen of the Scrutiny States (2) Panels  would  not  be  excluded  from  membership,  the  existing  Shadow  Public Pub.Ed. Accounts Committee had recommended that any elected members appointed should Scrutiny be independent members of the Assembly.

Deputy S.C. Ferguson contended that the retention of suitably qualified persons who were not elected members of the Assembly would provide the Public Accounts Committee  with  a  more  consistent  level  of  financial  expertise  than  was  often available from within the membership of the States. Mr. T. Dunningham explained that there was no requirement for non-elected members to retain a vote.

The Committee agreed that the existing non-States members on the Shadow Public Accounts  Committee  added  significantly  to  the  overall  level  of  expertise. Nevertheless, it expressed some reservations at the prospect of continuing to permit persons who were not elected members of the Assembly to sit as members of a Committee  that  might,  on  occasion,  make  particularly  far  reaching recommendations  concerning  the  administration  of  public  finances.  It  further expressed the view that, in the event such members were permitted to sit on the Public Accounts Committee, they should not be permitted to vote and, in addition, a suitable oath of confidentiality would need to be administered.

The  Committee  agreed  to  table  a  Comment  to  the  Amendment  in  the aforementioned terms and delegated authority to the President to approve the final draft.

Connétable D.F. Gray requested that his dissent to the Committee decision be recorded as he remained totally opposed to the principle of allowing persons who were not elected members of the States to sit on the Public Accounts Committee.

Joint Working A2. The Committee received a draft consultation paper, prepared by the Greffier Party on of the States, summarising the recommendations of the Joint Working Party on Electoral Electoral Reform for changes to the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002.

Reform: report.

424/2(13) The Committee recalled that the Joint Working Party on Electoral Reform had met

on 13th September 2004 to consider the following –

Clerk

Pub.Ed. (a) a  review of the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002, as prepared by States (2) Deputy G.W.J. de Faye,

Encl.

2. a report prepared by Mr. A. Lee in connexion with electoral systems and formulae, and
3. an  appropriate  way  forward  with  regard  to  the  implementation  of electoral reform.

Having analysed and discussed each item, the Joint Working Party had agreed upon a series of recommendations, as outlined in the aforementioned consultation paper. The recommendations affected a number of issues including, but not exclusive to, residency  requirements,  production  and  maintenance  of  the  electoral  register, nomination of a substitute Autorisé, opening hours for polling stations and the right of candidates to be present at individual polling stations without notice  and the issue of postal voting. A key factor underpinning the recommendations made was the need to make the voting process as simple and as convenient as possible for the electorate.

The Committee concluded that the draft paper provided a sound basis for consultation on the matter of electoral reform. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and having recalled that the intention of the Joint Working Party was to make the process of voting easier and convenient, the Committee agreed that the Joint Working Party should be invited to review its recommendation that polling stations should open at 10.00am. It further concluded that there was limited  scope  for  a  revision  to  the  draft  recommendation  concerning  the matter of facilitating, interfering in or overseeing the postal or pre-poll vote of another person.  Referring to an  example of a  residential  home  for  senior citizens, the Committee considered that it would be in order for a candidate to attend at such a home with a number of voting forms. However, it believed that a candidate should pass such forms to the supervisor of the home to distribute amongst residents.

The Committee requested Deputy P.N. Troy , as Chairman of the Joint Working Party, to discuss these outstanding issues with the other two members. It was agreed that once the Joint Working Party had finalised its recommendations, the report should be presented to the States and to other interested parties as a consultation document before final proposals were agreed.