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Chairmen's Committee - Approved Committee Minutes - 17 February 2006

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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-

 

 

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

  1. Scrutiny Promotion

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.

  1. Step  by  step  guide  to  planning  a  major  written consultation

The  Committee  noted  the  guide  produced  by  the Communications Unit and expressed the following concerns:

  • What is the definition of a major and minor piece of consultation; and
  • What  role  does  the  Citizen's  Panel  play  in relation to the Scrutiny Panels.

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

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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

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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.

 

9.

Panel's proposed work programmes

  1. Corporate Services

The Committee approved the work programme as set out.

  1. Economic Affairs

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.

 

 

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.

 

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.

 

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

 

time.

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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