Jersey hosting the British Ports Administrators’ Conference

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WRITTEN QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE HARBOURS AND AIRPORT COMMITTEE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. JOHN

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 26th OCTOBER 2004

Questions

1. From  5th  to  8th  October 2004,  Jersey  hosted  the  British  Port  Administrators' Conference.  Would  the President advise members –

( a ) when the original invitation to hold the conference in Jersey was sent to the British Port Administrators? ( b ) of the total cost of hosting the Conference?

( c ) of the cost of Jersey Harbours hosting a dinner at the Jersey Pottery? and,

( d ) of the remuneration paid to the main co-ordinator of the Conference?

2. Would thePresidentinformmembersof the Committee's policy onre-employingformer staff members after retirement?
3. Would thePresident inform membersof the Committee's policy onentertainmentgiven that the Committee does not return unspentamountsof its budgetto the Treasury?

Answer

1. I am not awareofan organisation called the British Port Administrators' nor was I aware that they held a conference in Jersey onthesame dates as that of the British Ports Association.

I t is a pleasure to confirm that this latter conference was a great success with a record number of delegates

(132) attending, mostly Chief and senior executives of significant British Ports, many with partners. All of the delegates with whom I communicated spoke very highly of Jersey and its hospitality and will continue be tremendous ambassadors for our Island for a long time to come. This has been confirmed by numerous letters and emails received post the event.

T h e original invitation to hold the conference in Jersey was made at the end of the last conference held in

October 2003 in Aberdeen.

 J e rsey Harbours' budget for hosting the conference is £7,500.00, against which can be set in excess of

£3,000.00 received in airport dues plus commission on duty free sales which may have been made by the delegates on departure.

I n addition Condor Ferries hosted a Vin d'Honneur on the Tuesday evening, as did the Jersey Conference

Bureau on the Wednesday.  I am not aware of cost of these events.

T h e dinner hosted by Jersey Harbours at the Jersey Pottery was one of the highlights of the three days and we

were honoured by the presence of His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor and Lady Cheshire. The cost of the dinner, included in the overall budget figure, was £5,646.00.

A  company  called  Expolog,  who  were  contracted  by  the  British  Ports' Association,  carried  out  the

organisation of the conference. Therefore the issue of remuneration is a matter between them.

H  owever, I am pleased to have this opportunity to pay tribute to Captain Brian Nibbs, the retired Chief Executive of Jersey Harbours, who provided the essential local co-ordination, including the social and

partners programmes, with a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness. I do not believe that the conference

would have been the success that it undoubtedly was without the involvement of Captain Nibbs, supported actively by Mrs. Nibbs, both of whom carried out their duties on a voluntary basis.

I t is essential to Jersey that Jersey Harbours takes a full part in events such as this as it assists to maintain an

aligned vision with our British Islands counterparts, setting and meeting common professional and international definitions and standards of best practice.

2. Committee policy onre-employment is inaccordancewith States policy. Itis quite a complex policy andit depends onwhetheror not a person leftthe service for another post elsewhere, retired before the normal retirement age, retired due to ill-health andso on. It would be vital for the Deputy toseek further expert advice from the StatesHumanResourcesdepartment if hewould like to fully understandthe policy.
3. Thereisnoobviousor logical link between an entertainment policy and the financial return made to the Treasury.

 H  owever, the Committee's entertainment policy is based on the States Personnel Code of Conduct and

includes the following guidelines for expenditure on entertainment and hospitality –

H  o s pitality may be considered appropriate in circumstances where forging good relationships with

customers will benefit the organisation in monetary and goodwill terms. A rule of thumb is that hospitality should be an expense of an organisation supplying a service and therefore such expenditure should be restricted to our benefactors (customers, community organisations etc.) Occasionally, it may benefit a long-term relationship with a supplier to share hospitality but this is the exception rather than the rule.

E x p e nditure on hospitality or entertaining for staff is at the discretion of management.

A l l h ospitality expenditure should be within budgetary limits set at the beginning of the financial year.

Any excessive expenditure will be scrutinized in detail.'

T h e issue of financial returns to the Treasury is an entirely separate matter. The Deputy will know from his

time as a member of the Harbours and Airport Committee that Jersey Harbours has in the past contributed significant sums to the Treasury. For example, over the eight years to 2002 £5.4 million was paid.

N  o financial return is being paid this year as the revenue surplus is being reinvested in essential capital

expenditure such as repairing the concrete degradation on the New North Quay and maintaining other old maritime structures.