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3. Questions to Ministers without Notice - The Minister for Transport and Technical Services
- The Deputy of St. Martin :
Four months ago on 2nd December 2008, the States approved the Speed Limits Creation Review Working Group put forward by Deputy Gorst of St. Clement to bring forward its conclusions to the House by 30th June which is 3 months away. Will the Minister give an update on the work being undertaken by this Review Group and is the project on time to be here on 30th June?
The Connétable of St. Brelade (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services):
I thank the Deputy for the question. The panel - a sub-panel if you like - has been formed consisting of the Connétable of St. John , Connétable of St. Saviour and Deputy Fox and they will be considering the subject matter, utilising the information which is at hand. A review was undertaken by the Comité des Connétable s about 18 months ago. They will be taking that on board and carrying out the necessary consultations and no doubt reporting to the House hopefully back in time for 30th June.
3.1.1 The Deputy of St. Martin :
May I ask a supplementary? When was that group set up, please? The Connétable of St. Brelade :
It was only set up about 10 days ago.
- Senator S.C. Ferguson:
The House is aware that there will need to be a replacement for the Chief Officer, the current one having been promoted. Has a new Chief Officer been appointed and in view of the House's concern about succession planning and promoting from within the Island, can the Minister give us any details as to what is happening?
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
The post of Chief Officer was advertised and there were 3 local applicants, one of which was selected as Acting Chief Officer with a view that the post be advertised further. I am keen that the post be taken by a local applicant. I feel it is a position that is quite difficult to fill from outside in that it is technical - that is the nature of the beast - a technical operation and the applicant who was appointed as Acting Chief Officer, I think, with training will be the ideal person to eventually take the post.
- Deputy R.C. Duhamel of St. Saviour :
The Waste Management Strategy states that only a small fraction of the waste electricals and metals will be separated for recycling and that the remainder will be included in the waste stream for burning. Given that these materials are a major pollutant of the gases emitted and the ash formed, will the Minister be bringing to this Assembly, within his term of office, a revision to the waste electrical items and metals recycling targets within the Waste Management Strategy and also be seeking to introduce stricter separation procedures to minimise or eliminate metal contamination within the residual waste stream?
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
If I can work this backwards in answer to the Deputy 's question. Clearly the concern is over burning waste electricals as any emissions that may exude from the flues, either from Bellozanne or from the new plant presently being constructed at La Collette. I am very keen that any emissions from those flues are kept well within controls and to that end I would ensure that any separation or any filtering of the flues takes place before this happens. The present situation is that we have a considerable number of pallets of television sets down at Bellozanne; these are
awaiting shipment to the U.K. and the costs are significant. We worked out recently that it costs about £10 per set to send these off the Island in terms of pallatisation at this end, transportation for getting it across, transportation from the docks to the plant over the other side and a gate fee at the other side. It may be that in the course of time we will have to review how these costs can be balanced and perhaps turned into a user-pays situation so the Island is not forced to spend money on disposing of electrical goods.
3.3.1 Deputy R.C. Duhamel:
Supplementary? Does the Minister intend to eliminate or to separate out from the incinerator waste stream things like household batteries or indeed items containing mercury? If not, how will he intend to deal with these material items within the burning incinerator waste?
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
The detail is that the department has a philosophy to reduce this as much as possible, but with the best will in the world, there will be the odd one that creeps in and I think with additional kerbside separation schemes which the Parishes are developing as time goes on, this situation will be much improved. But certainly, to confirm with the Deputy , the department's philosophy is to separate as much as possible.
Deputy R.C. Duhamel:
Further supplementary, if I may? The Deputy Bailiff :
No, I am sorry, Deputy , you have had your 2 and there are a number of other Members who want to ask questions. Deputy Green?
- Deputy A.K.F. Green:
Could the Minister outline the design changes that were made by the Minister for Planning and Environment to the original specification for the energy from waste plant? It was discussed at a meeting on 6th November 2008 and these alterations increased the cost by £4 million.
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
The Minister for Planning and Environment, as part of the condition of the planning consent, insisted on various alterations to the building proposed to encapsulate the energy from waste plant and those were implemented and the planning permission was given.
3.4.1 Deputy A.K.F. Green:
Supplementary? Could the Minister be a little bit more precise rather than "various alterations"? The Connétable of St. Brelade :
Well, in truth, the involvement of the Minister for Planning and Environment insisted that Hopkins Architects be engaged to redesign the exterior of the building and this was done and has been approved.
- Deputy J.A. Martin of St. Helier :
Would the Minister for Transport and Technical Services, if the proposed Ann Court car park does not go ahead which would have seen the Minister have to borrow up to around £25 million, still pursue this money to exactly do what we were hoping a new Minister for Transport and Technical Services would do and that is think outside the box and kick-start a new integrated form of transport in Jersey?
Yes, if I may just correct the Deputy on one point, with the proposals in place prior to the change of heart, if you like, and move to a master plan, the intention was that the proposed construction would be financed principally from the car parks trading fund and there would be a borrowing of some £12 million to make up the difference. I am guided by the mood of Members. In effect, the proposals for Ann Court car park were passed through the Assembly, they were given to the Council of Ministers in the previous regime, if you like to call it that, and my department was charged to produce plans for a car park which they have done. The situation now has reverted back, and I think quite rightly, to the Minister for Planning and Environment for the creation of a north town master plan. Discussions on this are ongoing and I think the result will be of great benefit, not only to the north of town but to the town in general. So, yes I am prepared to think outside the box. Anything which is going to be of benefit to the public. But not only the public and residents, but traders alike have to be considered and if there is an improvement to be had, we need to think about it.
3.5.1 The Connétable of St. Mary :
The Minister will be aware that as far as the bus service is concerned, St. Mary and other outlying Parishes effectively close at about 6.00 p.m. in winter months. Will the Minister undertake to investigate whether it would be possible to lay on a circular route taking in areas of St. Mary and St. Ouen prior to the winter schedule being finalised? Even if perhaps this only happens on limited nights, say Friday and Saturday in the first instance.
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
All suggestions with regard to improving the bus service will be gratefully received and, in fact, I think at the next meeting the Comité des Connétable s have asked representatives of Connex to attend to receive suggestions from the Connétable s as to how their Parish services may be improved. What must not be overlooked, of course, is cost. In fact, if these services can be cost neutral, it is best, but that is not always achievable. I think what we need to demonstrate and perhaps draw out of our parishioners is the need. So once we have identified that need and perhaps a certified need, we can put on a service which is going to be satisfactory to those who wish to use it.
- Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier:
Will the Minister outline, given that the Discrimination Law has been held up yet again, what voluntaristic steps is he taking to improve disability access to public transport, be it taxis or be it buses, where only half, if that, of the fleet is currently covered?
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
With regard to bus replacement, when this becomes due once again at the end of the contract, consideration will need to be given to that. In fact in part of my previous answer to the Deputy regarding school buses, that is a situation which is not very flexible in that we have school buses which are not accessible to disabled people, so we feel we cannot use them for certain routes. There are a number of taxis which are, shall we say, wheelchair-friendly and those were brought in by my predecessor to help ameliorate the taxi situation. So while I am sympathetic and will always consider the disabled as a priority, we have to work in within our present contract - particularly with the buses - but in the new one we will be perhaps focusing more sharply on it.
3.6.1 Deputy R.G. Le Hérissier:
Can I just ask a supplementary? Is the Minister aware, are the number of taxis that are disabled- friendly increasing? Is that policy still being applied energetically?
I do not think there is any change to the policy and that there were a number of new licence plates issued a year or 2 ago and, that number I think is stationary at the moment but the taxi service is due for a review and maybe that is something that we should consider in the round.
- The Deputy of St. Mary :
The Minister will have seen the email, which I circulated to all States Members, about Deputy Green's written question last session, in which he asked, among other things, for the chemical composition of the water in the excavation pit for the incinerator at La Collette and the answer from T.T.S. was that the water entering the site will be sea water and rain water. How does the Minister feel about his department when he sees them misleading the house?
The Connétable of St. Brelade :
I would refute the suggestion or allegation of the Deputy that my department misleads the House. My understanding is, and I went down to look, is that sea water comes into the pit and flows out. Effectively, the contractors who applied for the permit are tanking out the bunker pit as part of the new construction and there will inevitably be leakage. There is a Jersey Electricity Company cooling water outfall and there is leakage through that and what comes in goes out. But, as a precautionary mechanism and to ensure there is no suggestion of any polluting at all, the Environment Department were applied to for a discharge notice in the proper manner and this is being undertaken. My understanding of the analysis provided by the Deputy is it was an analysis of the silt taken out of the excavations and not the water. I await an analysis of the filtered water, which I have not yet received, to be certain that the Deputy 's information is correct. I, at this stage, am not satisfied that the suggestions he has put forward are absolutely correct.
3.7.1 The Deputy of St. Mary :
The Deputy did not do the water analysis; the official analyst did the analysis and it says here "sea water" in one column and "pit water" in the other. It does not say "pit silt" and I doubt if he could analyse the silt. The figures here with lead at 40 times ambient, copper 4 times ambient, iron 112, I think, times ambient, manganese 32 times normal sea water; does the Minister not agree that these figures are quite startling and do not add up to sea water and rain water and that therefore his department was trying to keep this House unaware of the truth?
The Deputy Bailiff :
No, no, no, Deputy , I am sorry, you cannot allege improper conduct like that. You can say that it was inaccurate information.
The Deputy of St. Mary :
What other interpretation can be put upon ?
The Deputy Bailiff :
You can say, under Standing Orders, that it was inaccurate information, Deputy . The Connétable of St. Brelade :
I dispute the Deputy 's allegations of inaccurate information. I am aware of the analysis taking place. I am not satisfied that what the Deputy is suggesting the correct part has been analysed. I want to see that the water coming out of the purification process has been analysed. I am not satisfied that has taken place. If there are any inappropriate levels in the discharges, the Environment Department will be telling me. If I may add, as part of this - I am wearing a Fisheries Panel hat - I am extremely concerned that any pollutant would enter that area and it affects the fisheries in that corner of the Island and we will go to great pains to ensure that the water remains pure.
The Deputy Bailiff :
Very well, I know a number of other Members have got questions but that completes the time to the Minister for Transport and Technical Services.