Corporate Services - Approved Panel Minutes - 30 November 2011

Present

Senator S.C. Ferguson, Chairman Deputy J.G. Reed, Vice-Chairman Connétable D.J. Murphy [for a time] Deputy R.J. Rondel

Apologies

Deputy S. Power

Absent

In attendance

Mr W. Millow , Scrutiny Officer

Ref Back

Agenda matter

Action

1. Welcome  

The Chairman welcomed all Members to the Panel's first meeting.

2. Vice-Chairman

On the Chairman's proposal, the Panel appointed Deputy J.G. Reed as its Vice-Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 135(5).

3. Future Meetings

The  Panel  considered  a  meeting  schedule  for  2012,  noting  the Chairman's proposal that the Panel should meet fortnightly at 9:30am on  Wednesday  mornings.   The  Panel  adopted  the  schedule  as proposed, subject to amending the start-time on 11th January 2012 to 2:00pm and subject to confirmation that 12th December 2012 would not be a States meeting date.

Consideration was given to how each Panel Member would receive meeting agendas and it was confirmed that each Member would receive a hard copy.

Consideration was given to whether the Panel would hold its meetings in private or in public. It was noted that the Chairmen's Committee would  consider  the  matter  in  order  to  determine  a  standardised approach amongst the Scrutiny Panels. The Panel was advised that, were it to hold meetings in private, the records of those meetings would nevertheless  be  made  public  unless  the  Panel  had  discussed confidential material (in which case a private record would be taken, with an accompanying public record to indicate that the Panel had met).

The Panel agreed it would next meet at 9:30am on 14th December 2011.

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4. Communication with the Executive

The Panel considered communication with the Executive and agreed that, in addition to quarterly public hearings, it should hold quarterly meetings with Senator I.J. Gorst , Chief Minister, and Senator P.F.C. Ozouf , Minister for Treasury and Resources. It was agreed that it would

be  beneficial  if  these  meetings  could  be  held  within  the  Ministers' respective  Departments. The  Panel  agreed  that  the  first  meetings should take place in January 2012 in order to discuss the Ministers' respective work programmes. The Scrutiny Officer was requested to make the necessary arrangements and to ask for copies of the work programmes  (to  include  timescales  and  an  indication  of  which departmental section would lead on the work in any given area) to be provided  ahead  of that first meeting.   The  Panel further  agreed to request organisation charts of the two Departments within its remit.

It  was  subsequently  agreed  that  site  visits  to  the  Chief  Minister's Department and Department of Treasury and Resources should also be arranged.

The Panel noted that, in accordance with Paragraph 9.6 of the Code of Practice  for  Scrutiny  Panels  and  the  Public  Accounts  Committee, requests for information from the Executive were made by the Scrutiny Office to the relevant Department.

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5. Panel Communication

It  was  agreed  that  all  Panel  Members  should  check  their  e-mails regularly for Panel correspondence. Consideration was subsequently given to communication with the public. It was suggested that the Panel  should  aim  to  show  the  value  of  Scrutiny;  that  it  should communicate the relevance of the topics it reviewed; that it should consider the target audience for each of the reviews undertaken; and that there could be greater communication with the media itself. It was also suggested that the Panel's agreed work programme should in due course be communicated publicly via a media release. It was noted that the subject of public engagement would  be considered by the Chairmen's Committee.

6. Public Hearings

Consideration was given to whether the taking of images would be allowed during the Panel's public hearings. The Panel was advised that the previous Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel had not allowed images to be taken. It was noted that this subject would be considered by the Chairmen's Committee and Privileges and Procedures Committee.

7. Conflicts of Interest

The Panel noted that no Panel Members had an immediate conflict of interest to declare in relation to the Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel's remit. It was agreed that at the start of each review, consideration would be given to whether any Member had a conflict in the relevant area.

8. Scrutiny Training

The Panel noted that Scrutiny Training would be provided on 1st and 2nd December 2011. The Panel was advised that this training, which would focus on the review process, was part of an overall programme that would subsequently include training on chairing and questioning skills as well as a visit by the Panel to the House of Commons.

9. Legacy Report

The Panel noted the legacy report of the previous Corporate Services Scrutiny Panel. Consideration was given to the work that had been

undertaken between 2008 and 2011 by that Panel and to that Panel's suggestions of subsequent work that could be undertaken.

10. Procurement

The Panel noted that consideration would be given to whether a review relating to procurement policy should be undertaken, at which time consideration would also need to be given to whether the review fell within the Panel's remit or that of the Public Accounts Committee. It was  further  noted  that  the  Chairman  had  previously  gathered documents  relating  to  procurement  and  the  Scrutiny  Officer  was requested to circulate the documents amongst the whole Panel.

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11. Jersey Development Company

The Panel noted that its predecessor had undertaken a number of reviews  relating  to  the  establishment  of  the  States  of  Jersey Development  Company.   Consideration  was  given  to  whether  any further work would be required. It was noted that a presentation from the Jersey Development Company would be held that afternoon and that this would potentially inform a decision about subsequent work.

12. Medium Term Financial Plan

The Panel noted that a Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) would be developed by the Executive during the first part of 2012 alongside the new Strategic Plan and that it represented a subject which the Panel would most likely want to review. The Panel was advised that the previous Council of Ministers had considered the development of the MTFP and it was agreed that a copy of the relevant paper should be circulated to the Panel. It was further agreed that the Panel should request from the Executive an outline of the MTFP and information on the timescale for its implementation.

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13. Strategic Plan

Consideration was given to what work, if any, the Panel could feasibly undertake on the new Strategic Plan. It was noted that States Members would  be  involved  in  the  development  of  the  Plan,  for  instance  a workshop for all Members would be held on 5th December 2011.

The Panel was advised that the Chairman had previously researched strategic planning in New Zealand and it was agreed that the relevant documentation located by the Chairman should be circulated amongst the whole Panel.

The Panel considered whether a department-by-department strategic analysis had been undertaken to inform development of the Strategic Plan. The Scrutiny Officer was requested to determine whether such analyses had been undertaken and, if so, to request those relating to the  Chief  Minister's  Department  and  Department  of  Treasury  and Resources.

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