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1240/5(2215)
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE EMERGENCIES COUNCIL BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 9th NOVEMBER 2004
Question
I note in response to written questions put to the Vice-President of the Emergencies Council on 26th October 2004, his reply to (a)(ii) does not appear to fully answer the question what alternative arrangements have been put in place to cover this role (Parish Civil Emergency Liaison Officer, P.C.E.L.O.)' as his reply stated that the Comité des Connétable s is currently giving consideration as to who should have responsibility for this function in the future'.
Given that the P.C.E.L.O's. have been disbanded, would the Vice-President advise members which persons, if any, currently undertake this work in an emergency and what training they have already received, the date of training and where it has taken place?
Answer
In my answer to the written questions from the Deputy of St. John on 26th October 2004, I confirmed that alternative arrangements have been put into place to cover the rôle of the Parish Civil Emergency Liaison Officer (PCELO), and I stated that the Comité des Connétable s had agreed that this rôle should henceforth be undertaken by the Honorary Police.
In this new question, Deputy Rondel notes that the Comité des Connétable s is currently giving consideration as to who should have responsibility for this function in the future', but I should point out that the function' referred to in my answer of 26th October was the responsibility of the PCELO's for the monitoring of radiation levels in the event of a radiological incident. I can advise the Deputy of St. John that the Comité has now considered this matter and has decided that it is not the responsibility of the Connétable s to provide persons to carry out radiological testing, but that this should be carried out by a central agency on behalf of the Island. The Chairman of the Comité wrote to the Emergency Planning Officer (EPO) on 2nd November to inform him of this decision, and the EPO is currently consulting with the Environmental Health Department to ascertain which authority should have responsibility for this service.
On a more general note, I wish to make it clear that the Island is subject to continuous monitoring for the presence of radiation, and there are three permanent fixed air monitoring devices in place in different locations around the Island. In addition, marine environmental samples are analysed on a regular basis by the U.K. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science. In an emergency this monitoring would be augmented initially by the volunteers of the Jersey Warning and Monitoring Organisation (JWMO) and within 24 hours by experts from various agencies in the U.K. The members of the JWMO receive regular training on a weekly basis during the winter months in the civil defence bunker, whilst some of the Scientific Advisor members of the JWMO received their initial training at the U.K. Civil Defence College in Easingwold.
I am unable to comment about the training given to members of the honorary police as this is a Parish matter, but I understand that training is given to members of the honorary police in dealing with emergencies. Should the Deputy require further information in this respect, then I would suggest that he contact the Chairman of the Comité des Connétable s.