Economic Affairs - Approved Panel Minutes - 11 July 2007

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Agenda matter

Action

1.

Minutes of previous meetings

The Minutes of the meetings held on 2nd July 2007 and 6th July 2007 were approved and signed.

2.

Action Updates

1. The  Panel  noted  that  letters  had  been  drafted  to Finance  Industry  representatives  with  regards  to potential scrutiny topics.

The Panel noted comments in the Jersey Evening Post which suggested that a potential vote of no confidence in  the  Chairman  might  be  forthcoming.  The  Panel assured the Chairman of its full support.

2. The  Panel  noted  a  letter  from  the  Chief  Minister  to Deputy  Breckon  dated  6th  July  2007  regarding  the review  of  Jersey  Dairy.  It further  noted  the  Chief Minister's intention to provide a statement to the States on the subject and agreed to write to the Chief Minister to confirm this intention.

Officers were directed to take appropriate action.

The Panel appointed Deputy Breckon as lead member for matters relating to the Dairy Industry.

3. The Panel noted the record of Chairman's Committee meeting 29th June 2007.
4. The Panel considered the schedule of States debates for 2007 in private session.
5. The Panel noted an officer report detailing the Executive

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actions on the recommendations of previous reviews. It was agreed to defer consideration to the next meeting.

f)  The Panel considered B' agenda items from the Council of Ministers in private session.

3.

Forthcoming Propositions

The Panel considered the following Financial Services Regulations propositions:-

P.71/2007 – Draft Community Provisions (Wire Transfers) (Jersey) Regulations 200-',

These Regulations extended the scope of the Money-Laundering regime to money service businesses.

P.79/2007 – Draft Financial Services (Amendment of Law) (Jersey) Regulations 200-',

These  Regulations  established  requirements  for  information  to accompany wire transfers.

The Panel noted that it did not intend to exercise powers under Standing Order 72 to delay the second debate of either of these propositions.

4.

Questions to Ministers

The Panel considered questions without notice for the Economic Development Minister and the Chief Minister.

5.

Draft Price and Charge Indicators (Jersey) Law The Panel noted the officer briefing paper.

It further noted that Deputy Breckon was conflicted due to his work with the Jersey Consumer Council and would not participate in this review, although he would give evidence if called upon.

The Panel agreed that the call for evidence would be published on Monday 16th July 2007. It further agreed to write to all potential stakeholder groups.

The Panel considered the scoping document and proposed minor amendments.

The Panel considered and agreed the terms of reference with the inclusion of comparisons with our jurisdictions'.

The Panel agreed to hold the first round of public hearings from 24th to 26th July 2007, to include at least one evening session.

Deputy  Breckon  was  invited  to  give  evidence  to  the  Panel  as Chairman of the Jersey Consumer Council at the public hearing on 25th July 2007.

The  role  of  lead  member  for  the  review  was  offered  to  Panel members, however the Panel considered it appropriate for Deputy Southern to Chair the review.

The Chairman suggested a further 24 hours for consideration of the matter.

The Panel, having considered the timescale for the introduction of GST, decided that the review should begin immediately. Officers were  directed  to  take  the  appropriate  action  in  light  of  the aforementioned decisions.

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6.

Telecoms

The Panel recalled that it had met with its advisor for the Telecoms Privatisation Review, Dr. D. Parker, on 13th July 2007 regarding the sale of Jersey Telecoms. It noted that the draft report on the sale of Jersey Telecom properly addressed the questions raised by the Panel, with the exception of employment protection. It further noted that-

• The  Jersey  Competition  Regulatory  Authority  required additional powers before the States could proceed with the sale. Currently no action could be taken in respect of a breach of a telecoms operator's licence until the offending company had been instructed to desist, and furthermore no retrospective action could be taken regarding the action of the  offender  prior  to  the  issuing  of  such  an  instruction. Additionally, there were no intermediate sanctions in place, and the withdrawal of an operator's licence was the only effective sanction available at this point.

• The report did not address conditions required to protect the workforce and that and conditions within a sales contract aimed at protecting the workforce could not be imposed on any subsequent sale.

• A private equity company appeared to be the most likely purchaser at this stage.

• It would be preferable for the States to maintain control over the sale should it proceed, and that the matter should not be left to the consultants.

• Further  discussion  on  this  matter  continued  in  private session.

7.

Future Meetings

The Panel considered possible dates for further briefings from the Economic  Development  Department  on  the  Enterprise  and Business  Development  Strategy  and  the  Finance  Industry.  It agreed that 27th and 30th July 2007 should be suggested.

Officers were directed to take the appropriate action.

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