Corporate Services - Approved Panel Minutes - 18 January 2007

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Welcome - The Chairman welcomed Deputy C E Egré as a new member of the Panel.

1.

Minutes –

The  Panel  approved  the  minutes  of  the  meetings  held  on  30th November, 5th December and 22nd December 2006.

The  Panel  received  notes  of  the  informal  meeting  held  on  21st December 2006.

2.

Item 5 21.12.06

Matters arising -

The Panel requested for Attac to be invited to the next Panel meeting

on the 15th February 2007 to discuss their Scrutiny topic proposal for a review to be conducted into Government bonds.

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3.

Chairmen's Committee –

The Panel  noted briefing sheets from the Chairmen's Committee meetings held on the 15th and 20th December 2006.

4.

Item 6 30.11.06

Item 1 21.12.06

Current Reviews

1. Overseas Aid Review –

The Panel received an oral progress report from the Chairman of the  Sub  Panel  reviewing  Jersey's  Overseas  Aid. The  Panel noted that the Sub Panel had now appointed its adviser, and

would be holding public hearings on the 6th and 7th February 2007,  with  witnesses  to  include  the  Jersey  Overseas  Aid

Commission, the Chief Minister, and the Minister for Treasury and Resources. The Panel was informed that submissions were now coming in regularly for this review, and that the deadline for

all  submissions  was  the  19th  January  2007,  following  which further witnesses would be invited to attend hearings.

2. GST Review –

The Panel received an oral update report from the Chairman, and noted that there were still a number of outstanding issues where the requested information had not been provided by the Treasury:

a. The Panel noted that, following concern expressed by Jersey Finance regarding the revenue that would be gained from the proposed ISS charge, the Treasury had replied that it would be too  difficult  to  undertake  accurate  modelling.  The  Panel requested that the Treasury should be pressed further in order to clarify this issue.

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2. The draft GST legislation had been delayed due to legal issues regarding Protocol 3 which were currently being addressed by the Attorney General. The Panel agreed that the Treasury should be requested to provide the Sub Panel with at least part of the draft legislation in order to avoid possible further delays in scrutinising the proposed law.

3. The Chairman informed the Panel that he was concerned that it was not currently intended to operate a margin scheme in the proposed  Jersey  GST  system  whereas  it  appeared  that company  cars  would  be  able  to  avoid  GST. The  Panel requested that the Treasury should be pressed for a response on the value of vehicle sales.

3. Zero-Ten

The  Panel  noted  that  there  were  several  amendments  that needed to be made to the report as a result of issues which had arisen at the last minute, and agreed to defer final approval. It further  agreed  that,  due  to  the  exceptionally  tight  timescale involved in presenting this report in advance of the debate on the draft legislation, which was scheduled for the 30th January 2007,

the final approval of the report could be given by means of a telephone meeting.

The  Panel  noted  a  letter  from  Dr  R.  Kisch  regarding  EU recognition of Jersey's constitutional position. It agreed that this letter  complemented  information  received  from  other  sources. However, the issues raised by Dr Kisch were beyond the scope of the current report into the draft legislation.

4. Estimate of expenditure –

The Panel received and approved a total estimate of £8,510 to continue  the  GST  and  Zero/Ten  Reviews,  which  was  broken down  to £4,255  per  review. The  Panel  requested  for  this information to be passed to the Chairmen's Committee.

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5.

Migration Policy

1. The Panel noted that the implementation of this policy was a major objective in the Chief Minister's Departmental Business Plan for 2007. The Panel therefore agreed to form a Sub Panel, chaired by Deputy Ryan, to conduct a review of the proposals. The  Panel  agreed  that  the  Sub  Panel  should include   Deputy  Ryan  (Chairman),  Senator  Perchard,  and Deputy Egré from Corporate Services, and one member from the  Economic  Affairs  and  the  Health,  Social  Security  and Housing Panels. The Panel requested for the Chairmen of these Panels to be contacted to invite representatives.

2. The Panel discussed draft terms of reference for this review, and approved them subject to one amendment, however it was agreed that a Sub Panel meeting should be arranged to scope the review, and that the draft terms of reference should be discussed at this meeting.

3. The Panel requested for a letter to be sent to the Chief Minister informing him of the Panel's decision to conduct this review, and including the draft terms of reference.

4. The  Panel  noted  that  the  next  Migration  Advisory  Group meeting was scheduled for the 2nd February 2007, and agreed

that it would be beneficial to request a briefing for the Sub Panel following this meeting.

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6.

Departmental Business Plans