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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HOME AFFAIRS BY DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2010
Question
Will the Minister be bringing proposals to the Assembly in response to the Scrutiny Report on the Role of the Prison Board of Visitors presented to the Assembly on 18th August 2009 (SR7/2009), and if so, when?
Answer
The Scrutiny Report contained an inconsistency which has caused me some difficulty. It contained human rights related advice to the effect that it was not appropriate for Jurats to be members of the Prison Board of Visitors and yet contained a recommendation for a revised Board which was wide enough to include both Jurats and non-Jurats on the Board. Any change to the constitution of the Prison Board of Visitors will require an amendment to the Prison (Jersey) Law.
Before I can make a policy decision, I need to know if Jurats can remain on the Board. If they cannot, then an entirely new board will need to be set up. My preference is to retain the presence of Jurats on the Board if that is possible, because of the experience which they bring to the role, because of the weight which they carry as a group and because they function well together as a team. If Jurats can remain on the Board then I will need to decide as to whether it would be better to have a mixture of Jurats and non-Jurats working together on the Board.
Although I have several times been promised the advice which I need, it has not yet arrived and I am once again seeking to hasten its arrival.
I am now into the last year of my current term as Minister for Home Affairs and I am endeavouring to complete the major legislative projects of my Department within that timescale.
It is, therefore, unlikely that I will be bringing any Projets to the Assembly within my current 3 year term.