Economic Affairs - Approved Panel Minutes - 4 October 2006

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Agenda matter

Action

1.

Minutes

The Minutes of the meetings held on 9th August 2006 and 20th September 2006, were considered and approved.

2.

Meeting with Orchid Communications

The Panel recalled that a meeting had been arranged with Orchid Communications.  This  had  been  cancelled  due  to  scheduling problems. The Chairman undertook to meet them separately.

On a related matter, it was noted that the current arrangements for communications, whereby all contact would be carried out trough the Chairmen's Committee was unwieldy and would have to be rethought.

It was hoped that Orchid would be able to assist in the publication of the fulfilment review. It was also hoped that they could add value by producing press releases connected with questions asked in the States by members of Scrutiny.

GS

3.

Item 3 20th Sept 2006

Fulfilment Review

The Panel received a briefing from the Chairman on the progress of the fulfilment review, and considered the latest draft of the report.

The  Panel made  amendments  to the  order  and  content  of the report, and noted that it was currently planned to present it to the States on 9th October 2006.

Officers were directed to take the appropriate action.

NJF

4.

Item  5 20th Sept 2006

Dairy Review – Briefing from Dep Breckon

The  Panel  received  a  briefing  from  the  Vice-Chairman  on  the progress of the Economic Affairs sub-Panel (Dairy Review).

The Panel was informed that the sub-Panel was being delayed by the  late  arrival  of  the  report  from  the  consultants,  Promar.  A number of submissions had been received, and a meeting had been  held  with  the  Royal  Jersey  Agricultural  and  Horticultural Society  to  discuss  their  concerns  about the future  of  the  dairy industry.

The  Minister  for  Commerce  and  Employment  in  Guernsey  had been approached for permission to visit the Guernsey Dairy, but this had been refused. It was noted that the letter appeared to indicate  that  there  was  no  future  possibility  of  Jersey  Scrutiny receiving  assistance  from  the  Guernsey  government.  The Chairman of the Dairy sub-Panel was to respond formally.

Numerous issues had been raised, including the structure of the Jersey Dairy, its relationship to the Jersey Milk Marketing Board, and the responsibilities of its States-appointed Directors.

The Panel was expecting to receive and interim report from Promar on 2nd October 2006.

AB

5.

Meeting with the Economic Development Minister

The Panel met with the a delegation consisting of the Economic Development Minister accompanied by Mr. M King, Chief Executive Officer and Mr. K Lemasney, Strategy Development Manager, to discuss matters of mutual interest.

Communication was initially discussed, and all parties agreed that it would be preferable for information to be passed directly between the Department and the Panel (and vice versa) directly. It was noted  that  recently  matters  had  been  appearing  in  the  media without prior notice.

The Minister queried why he had not yet been called as a witness for the Jersey Telecom Privatisation review, and was informed that he would be so called at the appropriate time.

The Minister listed the forthcoming departmental priorities as-

The Enterprise and Business Development Strategy, intended to increase economic growth through co-operation with local businesses;

The  Tourism  Destination  Audit,  to  guide  the  Tourism Development Fund expenditure;

The Retail Strategy, the implementation plan of which was shortly to be finalised;

The Minister also noted that he was supporting an initiative to co- operate  with  the  cultural  elements  of  the  Education  Sport  and

Culture Department, and although Standing Orders did permit him to  appoint  a  third  Assistant  Minister  to  undertake  a  joint  role, valuable links had been forged.

In  regard  to  sea  routes,  a  service  level  agreement  was  to  be instituted with Condor Ferries by the end of the year, and changes in  regulation  were  planned  in  respect  of  ramp  permits.  A  joint agreement with Guernsey was planned for 2009.

The Chairman then raised the issue of the appeals procedure for RUD  decisions.  The  Minister  informed  the  meeting  that  the procedure was that an applicant would be re-heard by the Minister, with the Royal Court as a further option.

The Minister expressed the hope that the Panel would keep the Department informed about future reviews.

The Minister suggested that the Panel should receive a briefing in respect  of  the  financial  services  industry  from  the  Director  of International Finance.

The Panel thanked the Minister for his attendance. The delegation then withdrew.