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5.15 Deputy G.C.L. Baudains of the Minister for Transport and Technical Services regarding the resurfacing of Rue à Don:
Would the Minister advise why he intends resurfacing Rue à Don and the expected cost of doing so?
Deputy K.C. Lewis (The Minister for Transport and Technical Services):
Rue à Don was identified in the 2010 Jersey Highway Network Survey as requiring urgent resurfacing. From 2010 the project has waited for the new Jersey Electricity Company link with France to be designed, route confirmed and installed in the road before T.T.S. (Transport and Technical Services) was able to let the resurfacing contracts. Over the last 3 years the road has deteriorated further and is considered to be past its end of life. The project cost for resurfacing roads is estimated, excluding traffic calming scheme at Ville es Renauds, as £1.7 million.
- Deputy G.C.L. Baudains:
Is the Minister aware that most of the road he intends resurfacing is in a better condition than most other main roads and really the only stretch that is in real need of repair is from Grouville garage to Gorey Village? Can the Minister confirm that the proposed work is not simply to make up his department's long-standing failure to ensure utility companies reinstate transport to a satisfactory standard?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
Not at all, as I have just pointed out, Normandy 3 has come down the road which does cause more disruption. Hopefully by May of 2014 I will be bringing forward the Streetworks Law to the States for their approval, which will give the position of Minister for T.T.S. extra powers to enforce. At the moment trenching is guaranteed, I think, for 3 years but everything at the moment is done by agreement. The road itself is in very bad state and I think if the Deputy would consult the good people of Grouville they will tell him otherwise.
The Bailiff :
The Deputy of Grouville . Deputy , I owe you an apology for the last question and we will revert to it at the end.
- The Deputy of Grouville :
I would agree with the Minister that Rue à Don is most certainly in urgent need of resurfacing and was awaiting the French cable to be laid underneath the road, however the Minister's department gave permission for the newly laid beautiful cycle track to also be dug up which has been reinstated but has not been correctly reinstated and there is, I believe, an argument going on between his department and the electricity company as to who is going to reinstate this and who is going to pay for it. Could he give this Assembly the timescale that we can expect the cycle track to be put right and could he confirm who is paying for it?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
Yes, indeed. I cannot give an exact timescale but I can assure the Deputy that it was the J.E.C. (Jersey Electricity Company) who put the cable in and if it is not reinstated to a satisfactory level it will be done again.
- The Connétable of St. John :
Given that we used to spend £15 million a year, year on year, on resurfacing our roads and we now spend not even a third of that, so as the Minister has explained he is spending £1.7 million in this area of road when we have areas of this Island which are being patched upon patch upon patch. I could take him to an area at Sion within St. John which every other month I see his vehicles or some vehicles patching the roads in that area. When will the remainder of this Island get a good road surface and get our infrastructure back to where it should be, not just have the status quo year on year? It is for him as the Minister. Will the Minister confirm that he will get off is his backside and make sure he fights tooth and nail to get more money put into his budget at the time of the next review because this is unacceptable and our roads are turning into little bits of grit. We would be better just to cover them with hoggin.
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
I am not sure what the question was in its entirety.
The Bailiff :
Whether you were going to seek a lot more money on road repairs? Deputy K.C. Lewis :
Absolutely, Sir. Both I and my department are in regular contact with the Minister for Treasury and Resources and funds are being allocated. We are coming to God's own Parish of St. John in 2014 to start on the road from Sion going north.
- The Deputy of Grouville :
I would just like my previous question answered, please. If the Minister cannot tell us now when the cycle track is going to be reinstated, could he give us an assurance that he will come back and tell us when. He did not answer my question at all, in fact, and state who will be paying for it.
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
I believe I did. I said I could not give the Deputy an exact date but if the cycle track is not relaid to a satisfactory specification it will be laid again at the cost of the contractor.
- Deputy G.C.L. Baudains:
I think the Minister will be aware that recent resurfacings have not been to a satisfactory standard. Rue des Prés is a prime example, it is a rumble strip and is in actual fact worse than the road was before. Can the Minister guarantee that the resurfacing of roads in future, especially Rue à Don, will be to a satisfactory standard and that his department will not continue to accept substandard work? The process being used for road surfacing at the moment is not the one that used to be used. Would the Minister ensure that the previous satisfactory method is used?
Deputy K.C. Lewis :
Absolutely, and T.T.S. officers will be monitoring throughout. The Bailiff :
Before we come to the final question if I could ask the Deputy of Grouville whether she still wishes to ask her question of the Minister for Social Security because I had acknowledged her and then I omitted to allow her to ask the question. Do you still wish to pose it, Deputy ?
5.16. The Deputy of Grouville :
Yes, Sir. If I may just ask the Minister why he has decided not to provide statutory maternity leave, at least in line with the U.K., if Jersey still remains one of the worst provisioned in this area in Western Europe and certainly in the Scandinavian countries?
Senator F. du H. Le Gresley (The Minister for Social Security):
The answer to the Deputy 's question is that I am moving forward with the recommendations from the Employment Forum which were arrived at after a lengthy public consultation. If I was to change those recommendations and bring in a much longer period of maternity leave, we would have to go out to public consultation again and I doubt whether we would be able to bring any proposals for any protection in time for debate by this Assembly