PPC Minutes 12th December 2007

KML/LH

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE (63rd Meeting)

12th December 2007

PART A

All members were present, with the exception of Connétable K.A. Le Brun of St. Mary, from whom apologies had been received.

Connétable D.F. Gray of St. Clement - Chairman

Senator M.E. Vibert

Deputy  G.C.L.  Baudains  (not present  for  item  No.  A3  and  present  for decision only on item No. B5)

Deputy S.C. Ferguson

Deputy J. Gallichan

Deputy I.J. Gorst (not present for the first part of item No. B5)

In attendance -

M.N. de la Haye, Greffier of the States

Mrs. A.H. Harris , Deputy Greffier of the States

Mrs.  K.M.  Larbalestier,  Acting  Clerk  to  the  Privileges  and  Procedures Committee

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

Minutes. A1.  The Minutes of the meeting held on 28th November 2007 (Part A and Part B),

having been previously circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Public Elections A2.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 28th November 2007, (Jersey) Law resumed consideration of the proposed changes to the Public Elections (Jersey) Law 2002 - proposed 2002.

amendments.

424/2(45) The Committee recalled that it had discussed in detail the proposed amendments to Encl. the above named Law and, having made various recommendations, had agreed that

the outstanding issues raised at the last meeting should be referred to the working group for further consideration.

The Committee received a report in response to the above which had been prepared by Deputy J. Gallichan, in her capacity as Chairman of the working group. The Committee discussed the contents of the report and focussed on the following -

item No. 3 - the Committee confirmed that its concerns had related specifically  to the potential for candidates or their supporters to influence voters;

item No. 10 - it was noted that although it was possible to obtain an electronic copy of a registration form on line, it was not possible to register on line as a signed hard copy of the registration form was required by parish halls;

item  No.  23 - the  Committee  noted  that  the  estimated  mailing  costs  were £19,000 per election. The Committee was also informed that voting cards were sent after the register had closed. The Committee nevertheless confirmed its support  for  the  introduction  of  voting  cards  in  every  election  for  Senator, Connétable or Deputy .

with regard to item No. 26 - the Committee noted that it had been agreed that in certain circumstances an application could be made to the relevant parish by individuals who did not wish to be included on the Register. Such individuals would have to satisfy the Connétable that including their details on the register could result in a "genuine risk to life". Deputy I.J. Gorst suggested that this option should be publicised.

In concluding its consideration of Deputy Gallichan's report, the Committee noted that the Deputy intended to meet Ms. N. Southouse, Judicial Greffe to obtain details of the number of electors voting between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.. Following this meeting Deputy Gallichan would arrange to meet the Jurat with responsibility for public elections.

Draft Freedom of A3.  The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 13th June 2007, and Information with H.M. Attorney General and Mr. C. Borrowman, Assistant Law Draftsman in (Jersey) Law attendance, considered the draft Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 200-.

200-.

670(1) The Committee recalled that it had presented a report to the States entitled Freedom

of Information (Jersey) Law: second consultation (R.60/2007) on 18th June 2007, and had sought further comments from members, officers and the public in relation to the second revised draft Law. It had been intended that the consultation period would conclude at the end of September 2007, but it had, in fact, continued for a much longer period.

The Committee discussed the draft legislation and the responses received. It noted that  the  concerns  of  departments,  which  related  to,  among  things,  the  cost  of implementation, had not been dispelled in any way by the second version of the draft Law.  The  Committee  discussed this matter  at  length with  its  officers and  H.M. Attorney  General.  It  seriously  questioned  whether  the  cost  associated  with introducing the legislation (estimated by the Corporate Management Board in 2006 at £500,000 per annum) was appropriate in the current economic climate given the concerns expressed. Members also discussed the existing Code of Practice on Public Access  to  Official  Information  and  were  not  convinced  that  the  introduction  of Freedom  of  Information  legislation  would  remedy  perceived  deficiencies.  The Committee  was  mindful  of  the  fact  that  there  had  never  been  a  review  of  the performance of the Code from the standpoint of the customer, namely the public, to establish what improvements, if any, were required and whether the introduction of legislation was the only way of making those improvements.

The Committee recalled that it had agreed to pursue a request of the Council of Ministers that the full resource implications of the draft Law be investigated. In this connexion the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel had been requested to carry out the review and a review was due to commence in January 2008 with a view to the completion of a report in the early part of 2008. Having regard to the continued concerns expressed following the second consultation process the Committee felt unable to support proceeding with the draft legislation. It was of the view that a review of the effectiveness of the existing Code of Practice on Public Access to Official Information would be an extremely valuable exercise which the Corporate Service Scrutiny Panel might wish to consider rather than the proposed review of the resource implications of the draft legislation. Consequently, the Committee requested that arrangements be made for the Chairman and Vice Chairman to attend the next scheduled meeting of the Panel in order to discuss the matter further.

Voter registration A4.  The Committee discussed a proposal to mount a voter registration campaign campaign for the for the 2008 elections.

2008 elections.

424/2(46) The Committee recalled that a campaign had been mounted for the 2005 elections

and  it  was  advised  that  this  had  cost  approximately £30,000.  Having  expressed support for a similar campaign for the 2008 elections, members noted that no funding had been allocated for such a campaign. Consequently, it was agreed that a letter should  be  prepared  for  the  Chairman's  signature  to  the  Treasurer  of  the  States requesting that consideration be given to permitting the Committee to use monies which had not been spent during 2007 for the purpose of the campaign.

On a related matter, the Committee considered whether it might also be appropriate to organise a meeting for potential candidates where relevant information pertaining to the work of States members could be made available. It was noted that such an event had previously been held and had proved quite successful. The Committee expressed support for the organisation of a similar event in 2008.

Matters for A5.  The Committee noted the following matters for information - information.

1. c orrespondencedated 3rd December 2007 sentto all States members regarding the use of electronic mail;
2. t hat the next meeting would be held on 23rdJanuary2008at9.30a.m.in the Le Capelain Room, States Building, RoyalSquare;
3. s easonsgreetingsand gratitude from theChairmanfor the work carried out by membersandofficersonbehalfoftheCommittee.