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Economic Affairs - Approved Panel Minutes - 20 July 2006

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Economic Affairs Scrutiny Panel Meeting No. 22

Date 20th July 2006 Foreshore Limited site visit

Present Deputy G. P. Southern , Chairman

Deputy A. Breckon

Deputy J. A. Martin

Deputy K. C. Lewis

Apologies Connétable M. K. Jackson

In attendance Carol Le Quesne, Scrutiny Officer

 

Ref Back

Agenda matter

Action

1

The Panel met with Mr. C. Evans, Managing Director, Foreshore Limited and was afforded an opportunity to visit the hosting facility for high volume internet capacity users.

The Panel toured the site and noted that it had been established to accommodate the highest standards set for a hosting facility and provided several fail safe measures to ensure continued services to all of its e-commerce clients. Foreshore operated the facility with contracts  with  three  telecommunications  system  providers  to ensure continued band access and a non interrupted supply to its customers. Back up electricity arrangements and a highly cooled facility provided a basis for continued service for its clients.

The client base included local and offshore business, e-commerce clients and many others. Much of the business focused on disaster recovery.

Expansion plans for the facility were underway and hosting was a growing area. The Panel noted that many of the employees were highly  trained  individuals  both  in  information  technology  or engineering. The continued growth of such a facilities success was linked to the fulfilment and larger e-commerce industry.

The  Panel  discussed  issues  relating  to  the  impact  of  the  new fulfilment policy on the economy. It noted the view that the Oxera report  appeared  to  have  taken  a  simplistic  view  of  a  complex industry, that Third Party Service Providers were being seriously affected by the new policy, that the impact of globalisation, giant superstore chains and e-commerce generally were the reasons for high  street  decline  rather  than  fulfilment  and  LVCR.  Issues  of lobbying and pressure from the UK were noted as was the National Audit Office report.

The Panel thanked Mr. Evans for a very informative visit.

CLQ

2

Legal Advice in principle

The Panel received and considered a proposal for the retention of private legal advice in respect of its fulfilment review and agreed in principle that if it was unable to obtain the necessary legal advice from H.M. Attorney General it would go to the private sector.

CLQ

The  Panel  noted  that  the  firm  Hanson  and   Renouf  had  been approached on the basis that they had previously worked with a Shadow Scrutiny Panel. They had suggested favourable terms and were  in  a  position  to  provide  a  rapid  response  to  the  Panel  if necessary.

Signed

. Chairman Deputy G. P. Southern Economic Affairs Panel


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