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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHAIRMAN OF PRIVILEGES AND PROCEDURES COMMITTEE BY THE DEPUTY OF ST. MARY
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 15th FEBRUARY 2011
Question
Can the Chairman outline for members the progress being made in respect of facilities for States members following the work undertaken by the Privileges and Procedures Committee in canvassing members' requirements?
Answer
In July 2009 a questionnaire was circulated to all States Members concerning the facilities available for their use. Six Senators, 22 Deputies and 9 Connétable s responded and the Committee continues to work to address the issues raised.
Members were particularly keen to have more computers in the States Building, preferably in closer proximity to the States Chamber. The members' coffee room on the Hill Street side has therefore been equipped to accommodate 7 computers and 2 printers. A new version of Outlook has been rolled out to all users which provides 3 times more inbox storage and Java and Skype have been installed on the stand alone computers in the Communications Room. Webcams will feature on the next round of laptops to be issued to members.
Formal identification cards for States members have been introduced and are available on request. A number of members wanted more storage space so additional lockers have been installed. Radios have been placed in areas of the States Building that are not served by speakers so that members can listen to the debate from outside the States Chamber. Some members wanted to have daily newspapers and magazines available, however, as very few members use the facilities in the States Building on a daily basis, this was not thought to be feasible. As an alternative, the Economist magazine was placed in the common room for a trial period, although this was not widely utilised and has since been discontinued.
Preliminary consideration was given to the possible use of the old library building in Library Place as office accommodation for members, but the premises was considered unsuitable following a site visit by the Committee. Some of the respondents suggested that members should have dedicated research assistants or, alternatively, access to a research budget; however, in the current financial climate, it was felt that this expenditure could not be justified.
Twelve respondents asked the Committee to look into providing some form of paper-based or electronic library for States members. Concerns were raised regarding the cost of such a provision, along with the likelihood that the books would go out of date and be misplaced if the library was unstaffed. Also, the majority of texts are already available from the Information Centre at Morier House and Jersey Library in Halkett Place, and national newspapers and other publications are available free of charge online. At present, the possible introduction of an electronic library is being investigated by the Committee representative tasked with this research.