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19
WQ.223/2019
WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY M.R. HIGGINS OF ST. HELIER
ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 21st MAY 2019
Question
Will the Minister advise members of the reasons why the Health and Community Services Department was legally represented at the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry and the cost of such representation; and is it his assessment that the cost of this representation was value for money?
Answer
As set out in paragraph 1.1 of the Executive Summary of the Independent Jersey Care Inquiry: "Our remit has been to establish what went wrong in Jersey's child care system over many decades." Given that the statutory responsibility for the care and protection of vulnerable children lay with the Minister for Health and Social Services, it was appropriate for the Minister to be legally represented at the Inquiry. This is in line with the procedure at other public inquiries, including the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales, where those designated as core participants have special rights in the Inquiry process, including the right to be legally represented.
In the answer to written question 435/2017 of 18th July 2017 asked by Deputy Higgins, it was stated that to the end of February 2017, total legal costs for States Departments were £4,765,830 broken down as follows:
Law Officers' Department £1,210,919 States of Jersey Police £1,290,428 All other departments £2,264,483
The Minister for Health and Social Services' legal representative also represented other States departments so it is not possible to identify the cost of the Health and Social Services representation alone.
I am not in a position to judge whether the legal costs were value for money.