Education and Home Affairs - Approved Panel Minutes - 23 January 2012

Present

Deputy J. M. Maçon, Chairman

Connétable M. P. S. Le Troquer, Vice Chairman Connétable S. W. Pallett

In attendance

M. Haden, Scrutiny Officer

Ref Back

Agenda matter

Action

1. Minutes

The Minutes of the meetings held on 15th and 20th December 2011 were approved as a true record and accordingly signed.

Item 2 15.12.11

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2. Visit to the House of Commons Select Committee

Members were informed that the planned visit would take place on 24th and 25th April 2012

Item 4 15.12.11

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3. Departmental Briefings

Members noted that informal meetings had been arranged with the Ministers for Home Affairs and Education Sport and Culture on 27th and 30th January respectively.

Members also received advance copies of the departmental business plans and requested the Scrutiny Officer to prepare briefing papers identifying key issues for discussion.

MH

Item 1 20.12.11

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4. Draft States of Jersey Police Force Law 201- (P.182/2011)

The Panel received a briefing paper prepared by Professor Savage, Director,  Institute  of  Criminal  Justice  Studies  and  Professor  of Criminology,  University  of  Portsmouth  (adviser  to  previous  Scrutiny Panel review of the draft law).

The  Panel  noted  that,  in  the  adviser's  view,  the  current  draft  law provided much greater clarity in key areas including:

• Where  responsibilities  lay  for  the  production  of  the  Annual Policing Plan in terms of the role of the Police Authority and the Minister;
• The  status  of  the  Honorary  Police  in  relation  to  new arrangements for governance of policing in Jersey;
• The status of the operational independence' of the Chief Officer of Police

He  suggested  that  the  draft  law  embodied  a  relatively  different,  or hierarchical',  model  compared  to  police  authorities  in  the  United Kingdom  (UK)  in  the  sense  that  the  Jersey  Police  Authority  was charged with delivering' the key aims and objectives of the Minster and that the draft law appeared to place the Jersey Police Authority on a

footing not dissimilar to the police and crime panels' currently emerging in British law.

The adviser suggested that consideration might be given to clarifying the following two articles of the draft law:-

• Article  19  in  order  (i)  to  clarify  whether  the  Jersey  Police Authority had a degree of independence' from the Minister in drawing up the Annual Policing Plan and (ii) to make some explicit  linkage  with  Article  4  on  the  functions  of  the  Police Authority.

• Article 3(b) in order to specify that the Minister should consult the Chief Officer as well as the Police Authority in setting police force management policies. In relation to this consideration it was also suggested that it would be appropriate to define within legislation or supporting schedules what functions would come under the management policies' which the Minister would set and those that would or should not.

The  Panel  agreed  to  share  the  above  advice  with  the  Minister  in advance of the informal briefing on 27th January in order to enable a discussion on the above suggestions following which a decision would be made on the way forward.

516/1(58)

5. Impact of socio-economic status on educational achievement

The Chairman and Scrutiny Officer reported to the Panel on a meeting held with Dr. Elena Moran of the Community Relations Trust (CRT) to discuss  a  request  from  the  Trust  that  Panel  consider  funding  an independent research project. It was noted that the previous Education and  Home  Affairs  Scrutiny  Panel  had  been  minded  to  support this request which was in accordance with one of the key findings contained in their report on Examination Results (SR16/2011). The previous Panel however had been unable to pursue this interest due to the imminence of the elections and the end of the States Assembly.

Dr. Moran had explained that the proposed project was modelled on a study undertaken in the United Kingdom by the equality and Human Rights Commission (which led to the report How Fair is Britain?). It was intended to survey all parents with children aged 11 (in the first year of secondary education) focusing on gender, nationality, housing status and socio-economic status. It was hoped that the research might later develop into a longitudinal study looking at the same cohort as they moved into examinations at 16 and higher education and work at 21.

The Trust proposed a cap of £10,000 for the project of which up to £3,000 would be required for a detailed research proposal (to be funded by the Trust). The Trust

The  Panel  was  advised  that  Professor  Tony  Kelly  of  Southampton University had been approached to lead the research which could be undertaken by a student working towards a Masters degree and that it might be possible to identify one with local knowledge of the education system in the island. Professor Kelly was expected to visit the Island in the near future (at his own expense) to discuss the project with the CRT and the Education Department.

The Panel agreed that it was necessary to clarify the scope of the proposed  research  and  the  potential  impact  on  current  educational policy. It was agreed accordingly to defer a decision on this request pending the development of the design proposal and discussion with the Minister for Education Sport and Culture.

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6. Implications of Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) savings on the Youth Service and the Community Sports programme

The Panel received a briefing note from the Scrutiny Officer regarding preliminary discussions with departmental officers.

The Panel noted that the Youth Service had initiated discussions with certain  parishes  about  renewing  existing  partnership  funding arrangements. The Education, Sport and Culture Business Plan 2012 also indicated that there would be implemented a restructuring of the Youth  Service  in  2012  to  deliver  CSR  2013  budget  savings. Consultation was also due to take place on a draft five-year Youth Service Strategic Plan 2012-17.

The Panel also recalled that the Minister had indicated in the States that Youth Service personnel would be redirected from a focus on centre- based Youth Work to further out-reach work with young people who were not engaging with traditional youth work.

The Panel noted that the Education Department would provide more detailed information on their plans at the meeting with the Minister on 30th January 2012.

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7.  Issues  surrounding  the  review  of  financial  management  of Operation Rectangle (SR16/2011) – Ministerial Response

The Panel received the  Ministerial response to the report from the previous Panel. Members requested that consideration of the response be deferred to the next meeting.

1064/3/1 (6)

8. Inspection of services for looked after children: Report for the Children's Policy Group and Service Improvement Plan

The  Panel  noted  the  above  papers  which  had  been  provided  to members in confidence in advance of the briefing to States Members on 24th  January  2012.  Members  noted  that,  whilst  the  Ministers  for Education Sport and Culture and Home Affairs were members of the Children's  Policy  Group,  the  Health,  Social  Services  and  Housing Scrutiny Panel was the lead panel for this issue.

9. Future meetings

The Panel noted that Connétable Le Troquer was unavailable for the meeting scheduled for 6th February 2012 and agreed to rearrange the date for this meeting.