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CHAIRMEN'S COMMITTEE
Meeting of Chairmen held on 17th February 2006
Present Deputy R C Duhamel, President
Deputy R G Le Hérissier, Vice-President (from 10:50am) Deputy F J Hill
Deputy G P Southern
Deputy S C Ferguson
Deputy J G Reed
Apologies Deputy P J D Ryan
Absent
In attendance Mr. Michael De La Haye, Greffier of the States
Mr. Charlie Ahier , Scrutiny Officer
Mr. Mike Haden, Scrutiny Officer (Items: 2, 5 and 9a)
Ref Back | Agenda matter Action | |
1. 27.01.06 Item 5 27.01.06 Item 6 27.01.06 Item 7 27.01.06 Item 9 | Minutes of previous meetings The Minutes of 27th January 2006 were approved as being an accurate record of the meeting with the following amendment, however were not signed. Item 6 – Delete the final sentence The implication of this was KTF that it may not be reviewed by the Economic Affairs Panel within 2006' Matters arising The Greffier of the States confirmed that the States Greffe had requested that all the remaining budget of £388,910 from Shadow Scrutiny be carried forward, although it was recognised that the normal Treasury policy was to cap any carry forward at 3% of total budget which equated to £51,337. The Committee agreed that any official statements made in the KTF States of the nature pertaining to the Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 200- should be attached to the relevant minute. Deputy R. Duhamel confirmed that letters regarding access to Livelink had been sent to both Mr. B. Ogley and the Chief Minister. Deputy R. Duhamel asked if all Chairmen's Committee and Scrutiny Panel members would appraise the current Scrutiny website and suggest improvements. He further requested that they look at other sites for examples of further improvements. The Panel agreed that an action list should accompany the agenda in order to track progress of previously agreed actions. KTF | |
2. | Referral back of Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 200- |
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| The Committee discussed the absence of the Chairman of the Corporate Services Panel and agreed that in future any Panel Chairman unable to attend a Chairmen's Committee meeting should send the Vice Chairman or another member of their Panel in their place. Due to the pressing nature of the issue the Committee decided to discuss the Corporate Services Panel's conduct in the absence of any representatives from the Panel in question. Deputy G. Southern expressed his concerns about questioning at the Public Hearings. The Committee agreed that the President of the Chairmen's Committee should arrange a private meeting with the Chairman of the Corporate Services Panel in order to communicate the concerns raised. The Committee agreed that future statements by Panels to the States should clearly set out the course of action proposed. The Chairman of the Social Affairs Panel confirmed to the Committee that his Panel would assess the consultation done by Home Affairs before deciding whether or not to initiate a review once the issue was returned to the States for consideration. The Committee agreed that the Social Affairs Panel should write to the Minister for Home Affairs and seek assurances that the recommendations made in the Chairman's statement would be addressed. | BH |
3. | Public Engagement
The Committee discussed the need to encourage public engagement in the Scrutiny process. The Committee agreed that an open-day/evening' would be beneficial although the Panels would have to ensure that they could meet public expectations in terms of the outcomes of such an event. It was further agreed that Deputy G. Southern should progress the matter for consideration at the next Committee meeting.
The Committee noted the guide produced by the Communications Unit and expressed the following concerns:
The Committee agreed to write to the Council of Ministers informing it that these concerns would be raised at the meeting on the 9th March 2006. | KTF/GS KTF |
4. 27.01.06 item 10 | Social Panel: status (proposed split) The Committee discussed the proposed split of the Social Affairs Panel. The Committee discussed budget and resource concerns as well as the need for additional States members to contribute to Scrutiny should a split take place. It was agreed that any money carried over from Shadow Scrutiny would not |
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| provide a long-term solution, and permanent staff could not be appointed on the basis of a one year carry forward. The Committee subsequently agreed that the Social Affairs Panel should be split as soon as possible subject to sufficient resources being made available to enable the appointment of 2 additional Scrutiny Officers. The Committee agreed to write to the Privileges & Procedures Committee and the Ministry for Treasury and Resources to seek support for this proposal. | MDLH |
5. 17.01.06 item 2 | Legal advice Protocol The Panel discussed the revised Legal advice protocol and agreed the document subject to changes detailed to the Scrutiny Officer responsible. | MH |
6. | Costs for advertising with JEP The Committee noted the costs of advertising with the JEP. |
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7. | Scrutiny Administrative staff The Committee noted the appointment of an additional Scrutiny Administrator in the Scrutiny Office and the Organisation Chart for the Scrutiny Office. Deputy J. Reed asked whether the Administrators were trained to fill-in for Scrutiny Officers when the need arose. The Committee was advised that training and development programmes were in place to enable the Administrator to assist as much as possible but not to fill-in in the absence of Scrutiny Officers. |
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8. | Tendering for consultants/advisers etc The Greffier of the States outlined his role as Accounting Officer and reiterated the need for Panel's to adhere to the protocols for engaging consultants/advisers. |
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9. | Panel's proposed work programmes
The Committee approved the work programme as set out.
The Committee discussed the proposed work programme. Deputy R. Le Herissier stated that he felt the review of School Milk was not within the remit of the Economic Affairs Panel and should a review be undertaken it should be by the Social Affairs Panel. Deputy R. Le Herissier requested that his dissent be minuted. Deputy J. Reed requested that his concerns regarding the need for public engagement be minuted, as he felt that the proposed programme would not meet this objective. Deputy G. Southern informed the Committee that the remainder of their work programme would be formulated following consultation with the Finance Industry. |
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| The Panel subsequently approved the work programme as set out. c. Social Affairs The Committee agreed that Deputy S. Pitman did not have a conflict of interest in respect of the proposed Review of the Youth Service. Deputy G. Southern expressed concern that the Panel's work programme may be too ambitious for the resources available. The Committee subsequently approved the work programme as set out. d. Environment The Committee discussed the proposed work programme and agreed that the Panel would probably need an expert adviser in respect of the Planning Process review. Deputy S. Ferguson informed the Committee that a retired Town Planner was a resident in St. Brelade . The Committee subsequently approved the work programme as set out. |
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10. | States of Jersey (Powers, Privileges and Immunities) (Scrutiny Panels, PAC and PPC)(Jersey) Regulations 200- The Greffier of the States confirmed that the regulations did not apply to Crown Officers i.e. the Bailiff , Deputy Bailiff , Attorney General and Solicitor General. The Panel noted the regulations and also noted that they were to be lodged by the Privileges and Procedures Committee. | MDLH |
11. | Meetings in the Parish Hall s: arrangements The Panel discussed the arrangements and noted that although Parish Hall s would not be charging Scrutiny Panels for the hire of their facilities some exceptional costs would be passed on. |
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12. | Petitions Panel The Committee discussed the issue and agreed that the Scrutiny Office should explore the introduction of a registration book for suggested scrutiny topics. | KTF |
13. | Future Meetings The Committee noted that they would be meeting the Council of Ministers on 9th March 2006. Deputy Hill informed the Committee that he would be out of the Island and that his Vice Chairman, Deputy J Martin would be attending in his absence. The Committee also noted that their next Chairmen's Committee meeting would be on the 24th March 2006. The Committee agreed that the meeting would start at 10:30am following a request from Deputy Le Herissier. The Committee discussed the concerns raised by Deputy Reed regarding the scheduling of a Chairmen's Committee meeting on 25th August and agreed that no change should be made at this |
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time.
KTF
The Committee agreed that they would discuss whether Chairmen's Committee meetings should be held in public at their next meeting.
Signed Date:
.. President, Chairmen's Committee