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Education and Home Affairs - Approved Panel Minutes - 19 December 2005

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SOCIAL AFFAIRS SCRUTINY PANEL Meeting held on Monday 19th December at 09:30am

Present Deputy F.J. Hill, B.E.M., Chairman

Deputy J.A. Martin, Vice Chairman Deputy D.W. Mezbourian

Deputy A.E. Pryke

Deputy S. Pitman

Apologies

Absent

In attendance Mrs. K. Tremellen-Frost, Scrutiny Manager

Mr. C. Ahier , Scrutiny Officer

Mr. W. Millow , Scrutiny Officer

Channel Television and Channel 103 [Item 1 only]

 

Item No.

Agenda matter

Action

1.

Chairman's Welcome and Introductions

The  Chairman  welcomed  Panel  members  who introduced themselves.

 

2.

Discussion of Modus Operandi

The Panel discussed forms of address and agreed that  official  forms  should  be  maintained  in  official circumstances.

The Panel agreed future meeting dates and decided that all meetings would start at 9:30am.

The Panel considered its relationship with the media. It  was  advised  that  the  Draft  Code  of  Practice  for Scrutiny Panels stipulated that the Panel Chairman would  undertake  contact  with  the  media  on  that Panel's behalf.

The  Panel  was  requested  not  to  use  the  term chairman' for any Panel member who may be given responsibility for a particular area but to use the term lead member'.

The Chairman requested members to check e-mails at least twice daily.

The Panel agreed that Deputy J.A. Martin would take on the rôle of Vice-Chairman.

The  Panel  was  advised  that  business  should  be conducted through the Chair at meetings and also at Public Hearings.

 

Panel  members  were  requested  to  give  prior notification if they were to be absent from a Panel meeting.

The Panel was advised that the agenda for a Panel meeting would normally be ready one week prior to that meeting.

The Panel noted that the quorum for a meeting was CA three members. WM

The Panel considered whether the Chairman had a casting vote and Scrutiny Officers agreed to clarify this.

The Panel was asked whether it would be able to act as  a  set  of  individuals. It  was  advised  that  Panel members would be able to act without recourse to the Panel as individual members of the States. The Panel was also advised that each Panel member could do their own research before bringing their work back to the  Panel  in  order  to  make  suggestions  regarding review topics. However, if any work were undertaken independently, there would not be the same access to officer support as that available for the Panel itself.

3. Discussion of Areas of Responsibility

The Panel considered whether to designate areas of responsibility and how their future work programme might  impact  on  this.  It  agreed  that  it  would  be appropriate to undertake initial reviews as a full Panel rather  than  to  assign  areas  of  responsibility  to individual Panel members.

4 To consider potential Review Topics

The Panel considered a list of outstanding propositions relevant to the Panel's remit. It was agreed that the following  propositions  might  merit  the  Panel's attention:

Criminal Justice Policy (P.201/2005)

Draft Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) (Jersey) Law 200- (P.197/2005)

Housing  Trading  Organisation:  establishment (P.211/2005)

With regard to Private hospital development: Scrutiny Chair Review (P.221/2005), it was agreed that the Chairman

would contact Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire to discuss the current situation regarding the proposition.

The  Panel  considered  correspondence  dated  13th

December 2005 from the Minister for Social Security. It was agreed that the matter would be discussed with the Minister during his future attendance on the Panel.

The  Panel  considered  the  recommendations  in  the Scrutiny Report [SR1/2004] entitled "Responding to Drug Use" and whether some follow-up was required. It was agreed that the matter would be discussed with the Minister for Home Affairs.

The Panel noted that there had not been a review of the transition from primary to secondary care during the Shadow Scrutiny Process.

With  regard  to  public  engagement  in  the  scrutiny process,  the  Panel  noted  that  a  booklet  which explained the Scrutiny process had been prepared for circulation to the public. This would be considered by the Chairmen's Committee at a future meeting.

5. Any Other Business Media Training

The Panel considered the benefit of undertaking some media training. It was agreed that this matter should KTF be investigated with regard to possible training for all Scrutiny Panel members.

Conflicts of Interest

It  was  suggested  that  each  Panel  member  should determine  whether  there  was  an  issue  of  personal conflict of interest but that it would be appropriate to raise any matter where such a conflict might exist.

Meeting the Relevant Ministers

It was agreed that all relevant Ministers should be contacted  to  invite  them  to  attend  the  next  Panel meeting in order to discuss those Ministries' future work  programme. The  officers  were  instructed  to CA WM prepare  a  schedule  of  meetings  allowing  forty-five

minutes per Minister.

The Panel agreed that the Chairman would approach

the media once meetings with individual ministers had Chair been undertaken and a work programme agreed.

Training Feedback

The  Panel  agreed  to  complete  feedback  forms  in respect of the training on Scrutiny Induction held on 15th  December  2005  by  Frances   Taylor ,  Head  of

Scrutiny, Cumbria.

6 Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting would take place on Monday 9th January 2006.

SIGNED

CHAIRMAN, SOCIAL AFFAIRS SCRUTINY PANEL