19th Dec 2012

IC/SC/007

PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE (22nd Meeting)

19th December 2012

PART A

All members were present, with the exception of Senator Sir P.M. Bailhache and Deputy M. Tadier , from whom apologies had been received.

Connétable A.S. Crowcroft of St. Helier , Chairman Senator S.C. Ferguson

Connétable L. Norman of St. Clement

Deputy J.A. Martin

Deputy K.L. Moore

In attendance -

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

I. Clarkson, 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 14th November 2012, having been circulated previously, were taken as read and were confirmed.

Meeting dates  A2. The Committee agreed to meet on the following afternoons in 2013 – for 2013.

10th January 7th February 14th March 25th April 23rd May

13th June

11th July

5th September 3rd October 14th November 9th December

The Committee Clerk was authorised to take the necessary action.

States  A3. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A1 of 29th October 2012, Members'  recalled that on 3rd December 2012 Connétable S. Rennard of St. Saviour had Remuneration:  lodged  au  Greffe'  a  proposition  entitled:  States  Members'  Remuneration: Proposed  Proposed Increase for 2013' (P.127/2012 refers).

Increase for

2013  The  Committee  considered  and,  following  minor  amendments,  approved a (P.127/2012). comment to P.127/2012 that confirmed its opposition to the proposition on the 1240/3(73) following specific grounds –

1. the States should not be directly engaged in the setting of their own

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rates of remuneration;

2. the Review  Body  had followed the terms  of reference set  by  the States; and,
3. the Committee was not aware of any exceptional circumstances that would  warrant  setting  aside  the  recommendations  of  the  Review Body.

The Greffier of the States was requested to make the necessary arrangements for the comment to be presented to the States.

Facilities  A4. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 20th June 2012, review:  recalled having agreed that States Members' IT requirements should be reviewed. Members' IT

provision. The Committee considered a report entitled: States Members' IT Provision,' the 465/1(169) purpose  of  which  was  to  confirm  the  outcome  of  a  consultation  with  States

Members  regarding  their  IT  requirements  and  to  recommend  a  revised specification for Members' principal IT device.

The Committee  was advised  that  a  project group  had been formed to  review Members'  IT  requirements  in  2012.   Research  undertaken  by  the  group  had included a programme of interviews with 15 States Members, supplemented by additional informal interviews with a further 12 Members. Arguably the primary finding was that a majority of States Members make minimal or no use of the 14- 15 inch widescreen laptop they were given as a default device. This was because the device was thought to be a poor fit for the  way they worked. Common criticisms included the following –

1. that the device was too big, too heavy, slow toturn on and had insufficient battery life;
2. that many Members already possessed a desktop or laptop computer at home that could be utilised for at least some States business using secure remote access;
3. that existing security measures were frustrating;
4. that  a  lack  of  internet connectivity  in  key  States  buildings  was proving restrictive;
5. not all States Members benefited from Blackberry mobile devices and neither were Blackberries universally popular with those who had them; and
6. taken as a whole, the existing IT provision was not helping some Members to reduce their reliance on hard copy documentation.

On the basis that Members would continue to receive only one standard IT device, the prevailing view was that the principal device to be offered should meet or align closely with the following specification -

1. be robust, under 1kg in weight and no larger than a sheet of A4 paper, with a battery life of not less than 8 hours;
2. have  a  good  quality screen  that  allows  for  easy resizing  of document text;
3. be capable of being put into silent mode easily;
4. have WiFi and, ideally, 3G mobile data connectivity, with the latter being easy to switch off when entering the States Chamber so as to prevent radio interference on recording equipment;
5. be  capable  of connecting automatically  and  securely  to WiFi

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access points in key States Buildings;

6. open and edit a full range of Microsoft Office documents and PDF files;
7. allow documents received inPDF format tobeannotatedandany annotations saved for later reference;

(viii) provide full internet connectivity;

9. enable  Members  to  operate  private  and  shared  calendars efficiently;
10. provide sufficient security without being excessively obtrusive or technical;
11. offer a quiet touchscreen keyboard, perhaps with the option of adding  a  mechanical  keyboard  for  working  with  larger documents;
12. be  supported  by  a  ready-made  electronic  filing  structure  that would  enable  swift  and  reliable  access  to  and archiving  of agendas, minutes, reports and other necessary documentation;

Provision of a tablet-style device as the default option for Members was thought likely to yield immediate benefits, not least in terms of the scope for improved communication and data access, better diary management and scope for reduced hard copy documents in circulation. Members' also suspected that the scope for positive impact would be magnified by provision of a suitably secure wireless infrastructure in key States buildings, a States of Jersey controlled cloud storage system and remodelled training arrangements for Members.

The Committee was advised that various other jurisdictions were known to be trialling tablet devices in the context of pilot projects designed to measure the scope for more efficient working and reduced reliance on paper. These included the UK House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Any significant developments in this area would be reported to the Committee.

The Committee endorsed the proposed specification for Members' principal IT devices and agreed that, in the first instance, the Chairman should write to the Chief Minister requesting that the Information Services Department re-evaluate the application of existing resources and confirm the extent to which the specification could be delivered within budgetary and operational constraints.

The Committee Clerk was authorised to take the necessary action.

Public  A5. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. B3 of 14th November Elections  2012, received an oral update from the Chairman of the Public Elections Sub- Review Sub- Committee regarding production of the Sub-Committee's draft report.

Committee:

update. The  Chairman  advised  that  the  Sub-Committee was  presently  engaged  in 465/8(1) reviewing the process of registration and, in particular, the question of when it

might be feasible to move to a register based on the new population database, which  was being  compiled  in  accordance  with  the  Register  of  Names  and Addresses (Jersey) Law 2012. To that end, relevant enquiries were being made with the Population Office.

The Committee  noted the  position and agreed that  it should review the Sub- Committee's draft final report in February 2013.

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Standing  A6. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 27th September Orders and  2012, received an oral progress report from the Chairman of the Standing Orders Internal  and Internal Procedures Sub-Committee.

Procedures

Sub- The Committee was advised that the Sub-Committee intended to meet again in Committee:  January  2013  to  finalise  its  report  and  to  consider  correspondence  recently update. received from the Public Accounts Committee regarding impact assessments. 465/4(11)

The Committee noted the position.

Machinery of  A7. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A3 of 14th November Government  2012, received an oral update regarding the work of the Machinery of Government Review Sub- Review Sub-Committee.

Committee:

update. It was reported that the Sub-Committee's draft interim report had been considered 465/1(182) by the Chairmen's Committee on 18th December 2012. The prevailing view was

that greater clarity was required regarding the implications for Scrutiny arising from the proposal to establish Ministerial Boards. It was further recommended that the Sub-Committee seek views on the report from each of the Scrutiny Panels and from the Public Accounts Committee directly. In this regard, the necessary meetings were being arranged between 7th and 15th January 2013.

The Committee noted the position.

Electoral  A8. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A1 of 11th April 2012, Commission:  noted the intention of the Electoral Commission to present to the Committee its final report. final report at the Committee's next scheduled meeting.

1240/22/1/10

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