The official version of this document can be found via the PDF button.
The below content has been automatically generated from the original PDF and some formatting may have been lost, therefore it should not be relied upon to extract citations or propose amendments.
2016.12.12
15 Deputy S.Y. Mézec of the Chairman of Comité des Connétable s regarding the
holding of Parish Roads Committee meetings in public: [9763]
What consideration, if any, has the Comité given to the holding of Parish Roads Committee meetings in public?
The Connétable of St. Peter (Vice-Chairman, Comité des Connétable s - rapporteur):
Unfortunately, I can inform Deputy Mézec that there is none. We have not considered them at all as a Comité. Each individual Constable considers it in his own Parish on the merits within the Parish. I am aware, for example, the Parish of St. Helier since 2002 have been holding their Roads Committee meetings in public with an A and B agenda. In my particular case in my Parish I have offered it to my Roads Committee and they have declined but we have a new Roads Committee, just recently elected, and I will ask them the same question again.
- Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
Supplementary. Does the vice-chairman believe that there is merit in holding Parish Roads Committee meetings in public? Would he, or any of his fellow Constables, like to take the opportunity to come and witness a St. Helier Roads Committee meeting in public which I, myself, have done on several occasions accompanying parishioners when there have been issues on the agenda that have concerned them and seen first-hand the positive effect it has had on opening up the Parish system to those parishioners, allowing them to see first-hand and gain a greater understanding of the way things work and how they can engage with the Parish to improve the things that matter to them in their local communities?
The Connétable of St. Peter :
I see no demerit at all in opening them up to parishioners. But just to add to my previous answer, also within the ... what often does happen, certainly I think in most Constables' Parishes, that we invite people in when there are issues to talk directly to the committee on matters that are of concern to them so they can address the committee themselves. So public do have access, albeit by arrangement.
Deputy M.R. Higgins:
Sorry, I may have misheard the Constable. Did he say that he was not in favour of them being open to the public?
The Bailiff :
No, he said he saw no demerit, as I understood.
Deputy M.R. Higgins:
Demerit, thank you. Just wanted clarification, thank you.
- Deputy M. Tadier :
I think that those answers are useful. Does the rapporteur for the Comité also believe in a time perhaps where people are more mobile and they do move to live in different Parishes during the course of their life, although I am not saying that is exclusively a new thing, that people do expect some kind of consistency of approach, if not a cloning of each Parish but some of the main functions should have a consistency?
[16:15]
The Connétable of St. Peter :
Yes, Deputy Tadier is entirely right. That is the role of the Comité to ensure that we, as far as possible, reflect the way that we operate across Parishes albeit each Parish will have some area where it will have its own unique particular problem.
The Bailiff :
Final supplementary, Deputy Mézec ? Deputy S.Y. Mézec :
No, thank you, Sir.