Involvement of Jersey at the British-Irish Council

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QUESTION TO BE ASKED OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE POLICY AND RESOURCES COMMITTEE ON TUESDAY 11th MAY 2004, BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN

Question

Since Jersey joined the British-Irish Council, members have heard little of the Island's involvement. Would the President advise members –

1. of the extent of theIsland'sinvolvement in recent years and the reasonsfor the apparentlack of information being made available to the publicin this regard?
2. what contribution Jersey has madeand is still making to the British-IrishCouncil?and,
3. of the total funding bythe States, if any, sincetheinceptionof the British-IrishCouncil. Answer

1. Since 1999, the British-Irish Council, (BIC), has held over 95 meetings. Politicians from Jersey have attended all five Summit meetings andsevenMinisterialmeetings.Jerseyhasalso participated in most of the meetings of officials, and at BIC conferences and seminars. Ineachcase, the collaboration with other BIC jurisdictions has been informative and valuable for the departments concerned.

M  embers may recall that the Policy and Resources Committee reported on the Summits in 2000 and 2001,

and responded twice to questions on the subject in this Assembly. The third Summit hosted in 2002 by Jersey was reported by the media.

T h e BIC Secretariat published communiqués following the fourth and fifth Summits in 2002 and 2003, and

these  are  also available  to  the public on  the BIC  website (www.britishirishcouncil.org).  In  addition,  a comprehensive report is due to be circulated to all States members in July 2004.

2. Jersey has actively participated ineachareaof the BICwork, including: drugs;theenvironment; minority languages; social inclusion; tele-medicine; tourism and transport. Jersey has led in the area ofknowledge economy, which focuses on the information and skills-based economy. In 2003, we co-hosted an international conferenceone-government,whichwasthe first ever gathering across the British Isles to share experience onhow new technology is improving public services.

C urrent work is addressing the digital divide' faced by those who lack skills, abilities or opportunities to

benefit from the knowledge economy.

T h e British-Irish Council is the only international forum in which Jersey is a member in its own right, on a

level with the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The Council provides an invaluable opportunity to meet regularly with Ministers, and particularly the British Prime Minister and the Taoisaech, and to represent Jersey's interests at the highest political level.

3. The total funding provided by the States in2002 included £150,000for the BIC Summitmeeting in Jersey, and approximately £78,000 for theknowledgeeconomy work and BICwebsite.

I n 2003, the States provided approximately £27,000 for conferences, meetings and a project on the use of

information technology by people with disabilities.

£ 1 0,000 has been budgeted this year for the BIC, and to date there has been no expenditure on the knowledge economy work. The website is now funded by the BIC Secretariat.

I n 2005, as a result of the fundamental spending review, no revenue budget has been allocated for the British

Irish Council.