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TM/SC/266
PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE (15th Meeting)
15th September 2015
PART A (Non-exempt)
All members were present, with the exception of Senator P.F.C. Ozouf and Deputy S.M. Brée of St. Clement , from whom apologies had been received.
Connétable L. Norman of St. Clement , Chairman Connétable D.W. Mezbourian of St. Lawrence Connétable C.H. Taylor of St. John
Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier
Deputy S.Y. Mézec of St. Helier
In attendance -
J. Rogers, Chief Officer, Transport and Technical Services (for item No. B1)
T. Dodd, Director – Transport, Transport and Technical Services (for item No. B1) M.N. de la Haye O.B.E., Greffier of the States
L.M. Hart , Deputy Greffier of the States
(not present for item No. B7)
A.C. Goodyear, Assistant Greffier of the States
(for item No. A4)
T. McMinigal, 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 meetings of 7th July 2015 (Part A and Part B) and 17th
August 2015 (Part B only), having been previously circulated, were taken as read and were confirmed.
Composition A2. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A4 of 7th July 2015, and election of received an oral update from the Committee Clerk on the activities of the Sub- the States Committee on the Composition and Election of the States Assembly.
Assembly.
465/1(201) The Committee recalled that the Sub-Committee's second open-forum workshop
with States Members had taken place on 14th July 2015. A total of 24 Members had participated in the session, which had concentrated on voting systems. Members noted that the results of the second seminar would be published on the States Assembly website shortly. The Committee was informed that those Members who were unable to attend the session would be invited to respond to the questions posed therein via electronic mail correspondence.
The Committee Clerk reported that a meeting of the Sub-Committee had been held on 15th September 2015, to discuss the outcomes of the second consultation and its ongoing work programme. The Committee was advised that officers had secured a date of 22nd September 2015 for the Sub-Committee's third open-forum workshop, which would concentrate on the basis for calculating equity. Members
noted that, in anticipation of the upcoming briefing, a simple and plain explanatory note on the topic was to be published on the States Assembly website for information. The Committee noted that, having reviewed the objectives for reform, the categories and numbers of States Members and voting systems, this topic was considered the final building block from which potential electoral systems could begin to be sketched.
The Committee noted the position accordingly and awaited further developments with interest.
Web-streaming A3. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A1 of 25th June 2015, of meetings of received an oral update from the Greffier of the States in connexion with the web- the States. streaming of meetings of the States.
465/4(13)
The Committee recalled that P.39/2015 "States Assembly: filming proceedings and the installation of clocks" had been debated by the States on 15th July 2015. Parts (a) and (b), which provided for the provision of web-streaming, had been adopted.
The Greffier reported that a formal tender process had begun to find a supplier to manage the web-streaming and archiving of the filming of the Assembly. The contract period was to be 5 years. 5 companies had so far submitted a formal interest in acting as the supplier.
The Greffier advised that the invitation to tender was to be issued on 1st October 2015, with a provider to be selected the following month. It was intended that the web-streaming facility would be in place in early 2016. The tendering process was being overseen by a team consisting of members of the States Greffe, Electronics Department, Information Services Department and Procurement.
The Committee noted the position accordingly and awaited further developments with interest.
Installation of A4. The Committee, with reference to its Minute No. A5 of 21st April 2015, digital clocks considered a report from the Assistant Greffier of the States in connexion with the in the installation of digital clocks in the States Chamber.
Chamber.
465/4(14) The Committee recalled that P.39/2015 "States Assembly: filming proceedings and
the installation of clocks" had been debated by the States on 15th July 2015. Part (c), which provided for the installation of 3 digital display clocks in the States Chamber, had been adopted.
The Assistant Greffier advised Members that it could be possible to utilise different displays and countdown options and she invited the Committee to consider the various timing options and to agree what types of function should be available for use.
The Committee agreed that for oral questions with notice, the clocks should display a 2-hour countdown and the time lapsed for each question with notice (the timer would not be restarted for supplementary questions). For questions without notice to be answered by Ministers, the clocks were to display a 15-minute countdown and the time lapsed for each question asked (again, the timer would not be restarted for supplementaries). The same would apply for Statements. For Debates, the screen would show the time lapsed from the start of the speech of each speaker, with the timer continuing to run during interruptions and points of order. Finally, for Appointments, the clocks would display a 20-minute countdown and time lapsed for each question asked (the timer would not be restarted for supplementary questions).
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15th Meeting 15.09.15
Members discussed a suggestion that the clocks could also be used as screens to display other information, including documents that were circulated during sittings and information relevant to the debate. The Assistant Greffier undertook to investigate this extra functionality further and to report back to the Committee on the practicalities of its use and its additional cost.
Members' A5. The Committee considered a report from the Greffier of the States on the facilities: topic of reducing the amount of hard copy documentation printed and posted to reduction of Members.
hard copy
documents The Committee recalled that the States Greffe last approached members with 1240/9/1(137) options on receiving hard copies or electronic versions of documents prior to the
introduction of the use of electronic devices in the States Chamber. At that time it was felt that all Members still needed to receive hard copies of propositions as they could not access them electronically in the Chamber.
The Greffier suggested that, given the propensity of electronic device use in the chamber, it might be timely to again ascertain Members' preferences for the receipt of hard copies, with a proviso that no Members would be forced to accept a new electronic system that he or she did not want. The Connétable of St. Mary had notably expressed a desire to go paperless' in the States Assembly on 15th July 2015.
The Committee agreed that it would be appropriate and useful at this early juncture of the current States to survey Members to ascertain how they would like to receive their documents. Officers undertook to make the necessary arrangements to gather these preferences.
Jersey Youth A6. The Committee welcomed Ms. A. Vatcher, together with fellow Parliament: use representatives of the Jersey Youth Parliament (JYP), in connexion with their of Chamber for request to hold their plenary meetings in the States Chamber.
proceedings.
1240(260) The Committee also received a report from the Greffier of the States which
provided background information on the JYP and outlined various salient considerations in respect of their request. The Committee noted that representatives of the JYP had met with the Greffier and Assistant Greffier on 24th August 2015 for an initial discussion of the matter at hand.
Ms. Vatcher explained that the JYP was keen to use the Chamber because it would give an appropriate status to the organisation, which she hoped would become the representative body of the Island's young people. She advised that the JYP would like to hold approximately 4 plenary meetings a year, to take place preferably on Saturday mornings. The meetings would last around 4 hours. Ms. Vatcher anticipated that the first meeting of the JYP would be held towards the end of November 2015.
Ms. Vatcher recognised that there would inevitably be some cost associated with opening the States Chamber on a Saturday morning, as the presence of at least one States usher would be necessary. She further acknowledged that it might also be necessary for an employee from the security company which controlled the Chamber's public entrance to be present if a large number of visitors were expected. Ms. Vatcher remarked that although the JYP was likely to secure sponsorship in the near future, some contribution to these costs from the States Assembly budget would be of great help. Whilst she was open to the possibility of arranging meetings of the JYP during normal working hours or school holidays to avert such outlays, she considered it important that the meeting dates be as
convenient as possible for the young people involved.
Ms. Vatcher fielded various questions in relation to the JYP. In the first instance, she expected that at least 40 young people would be elected as members of the parliament, some as independents, others as part of the parliament's 7 established parties. The Committee was informed that anyone aged between 16 and 21 could stand to be a member of the JYP, with the first set of elections to be held in October 2015. The term of office would be one year. Members would be able to stand again at the end of that term should they so wish. Through its own civil service branch, the JYP intended to handle all the administration surrounding the sittings itself. In terms of the conduct of debates, a non-partisan Speaker would be appointed from within the parliament to preside over the sitting and maintain order in the traditional way. In addition, the JYP was in the process of drafting its own set of Standing Orders.
In respect of the sustainability of the JYP, representatives observed that succession planning would be crucial to the organisation's long-term future. Younger party members would be encouraged and expected to fill positions of responsibility when their more experienced counterparts graduated from the parliament.
Overall, the Committee was impressed by the enthusiasm of the JYP representatives and felt that they were aware of the issues that needed to be dealt with before they could be allowed to use the States Chamber. As a first step, the Committee agreed to consult the Bailiff , as President of the States, on the matter before taking a final decision. Members noted that the Bailiff was already scheduled to attend the Committee's next meeting on 13th October 2015. The Committee considered that that would be an opportune time to discuss the matter with him.