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Education and Home Affairs Scrutiny Panel
Record of Meeting
Date: 22nd January 2018
Present | Deputy J. M. Maçon, Vice-Chairman Deputy S. Y. Mézec Deputy T. A. Vallois |
Apologies |
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Absent |
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In attendance | Mr B. Bekhradnia, Panel Advisor [Item 3 only] Mr J. Donovan, Chief Education Officer [Item 4 only] Ms C. Walwyn, Chief Operating Officer, Education Department [Item 4 only] Ms T. Mourant, French Liaison and Communications Manager [Item 4 only] Mr A. Thompson, Project Manager, Education Department [Item 4 only] Mr A. Harris , Scrutiny Officer |
Ref Back | Agenda matter | Action |
| 1. Records of Meetings The Panel noted and approved minutes of the meetings held on 4th and 7th December 2017 and 8th, 11th and 12th January 2018. The Vice- Chairman signed them accordingly. |
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Item 2 08/01/18 | 2. Conflict of Interest No conflicts were declared by Panel Members. |
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516/49 | 3. Meeting with Advisor to the Panel The Panel received Mr B. Bekhradnia (the advisor) in order to present his report on the student finance proposals review. The advisor noted that the proposals had surprised him, however, it was explained that they would also address the immediate problem of funding students. The advisor noted that there were three main issues that came out of his analysis of the proposals, namely:
The advisor noted that he had not been provided with the necessary information required to complete his work, and had subsequently had to undertake further work as a result of being provided with information that should have been provided earlier. The Panel recalled that it had agreed |
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| to raise a formal complaint with the Chief Minister, and a letter was due to be sent informing him of the issue. The Panel agreed that it would submit a further request to the Treasury Department for any sensitivity analysis that had been carried out on the proposals. It was also agreed that the Panel would enquire as to whether the Treasury Advisory Panel had been consulted on the proposals. The advisor explained that he would re-write his report to reflect the information that had been provided and would circulate a list of questions for the Panel to use when questioning the Ministers in a public hearing. | AH AH |
516/49 | 4. Briefing – Consultation responses on student finance proposals The Panel received Mr J. Donovan, Chief Education Officer, Ms C. Walwyn, Chief Operating Officer, Education Department, Ms T. Mourant, French Liaison and Communications Manager and Mr A. Thompson, Project Manager, Education Department for a briefing on the consultation process that had been undertaken on the student finance proposals. Ms T. Mourant explained that the consultation process had been held over the Christmas period and, due to its short timeframe, it was necessary for it to be easy to understand. It was noted that the consultation had been based on three main objectives:
Over 3,000 responses had been received, with 88% of those in favour of the proposals. The largest age band that had contributed to the consultation was the 40 – 49 age bracket, which was noted as being predominately the age of parents with children old enough to attend university. The Education Department had held drop-in sessions at the Jersey Library before and after Christmas and had met with people from three main groups:
It was explained that the top three issues identified as a result of the consultation were as follows:
The Chief Education Officer explained that the timescale for implementing these proposals in order to allow students in September |
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| 2018 to benefit was tight, and therefore it was envisaged that only minor tweaks needed to be made to the proposal that went out for consultation. The Panel questioned if any further work needed to be undertaken on the proposals. It was noted that work was underway in the Treasury Department to assess the impact the proposals would have on lower income families, as some 200 families had been identified as being worse off by these proposals. It was noted that no family should be worse off than they would be under the current system. Further work was also identified in relation to the £150,000 threshold, and whether or not a tapered approach would be considered for those earning slightly over it. The Panel agreed that it would speak with the Chief Statistician in order to confirm whether there was any trend related to the cost of tuition fees in the United Kingdom and people re-mortgaging their homes. It was also agreed that the Panel would request any data that showed the growth of graduate level jobs in Jersey. | AH |
Item 1 19/01/18 516/49 | 5. Tertiary Education: Student Finance Proposals The Panel received an update on the progress of the review. It was noted that a joint hearing with the Minister for Education and Minister for Treasury and Resources was due to be arranged, as was a public hearing with the Jersey Student Loans Support Group. | AH |
Item 6 08/01/18 516/51 | 6. Draft Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201- The Panel received an update from Deputy S.Y. Mézec on the progress of the Sub-Panel's review. The Panel recalled that the States Assembly had adopted the principles of P.118/2017 Draft Criminal Procedure (Jersey) Law 201- during the debate on 16th January 2018, after which it had been referred for further scrutiny under Standing Order 72. The Sub-Panel would be reporting back to the Assembly prior to the debate in the second reading taking place on 20th March 2018. The Sub-Panel was due to meet with the Law Society of Jersey in order to discuss its submission. It was also noted that meetings with the Bailiff of Jersey and Commissioners of the Royal Court were due to be arranged. | AH |
Item 2 19/01/18 516/50 | 7. Draft Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 201- The Panel noted draft letters to be sent to key stakeholders requesting views on the Draft Sexual Offences (Jersey) Law 201- (the draft law), which was due to be lodged on 23rd January 2018. These were approved subject to minor amendments. The Panel recalled that it would invite submissions on the draft law from a range of experts in the field. To that end the Panel approved letters to be sent out, subject to minor amendments. The Panel noted the list of key stakeholders that had been compiled within the scoping document, and agreed to add further organisations. It was also agreed that the Panel would arrange a meeting through the Jersey Youth Service to canvas the views of young people on the draft law. | AH AH |
Item 3 19/01/18 | 8. Nursery Education Fund |
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516/46 | The Panel noted a briefing with Dr C. Hamer had been proposed by the Education Department to update the Panel on the Early Years' Report that was being considered by the Minister for Education. The Panel agreed that due to its current workload it did not have capacity to undertake the briefing, and requested the Officer thank the department, but ultimately decline the offer. The Panel noted that a letter sent to the Minister for Education requesting an update on his plans surrounding the Nursery Education Fund had yet to be responded to. The Panel agreed that it would chase this up immediately. The Panel agreed that it would submit an oral question to the Minister for Education to provide an update on any plans in respect of the Nursery Education Fund. | AH AH |
Item 7 08/01/18 | 9. Digital Skills The Panel noted that the report titled Skills Strategy Evidence Base Report' had been circulated as requested. The Panel agreed that it would take no further action at this time, and requested that digital skills be included as an area within the Panel's legacy report. | AH |
Item 8 08/01/18 | 10. Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel The Panel received an update on the progress of the Care of Children in Jersey Review Panel. It was noted that the Review Panel intended to lodge comments prior to the in-committee debate on P.108/2017 Independent Jersey Care Inquiry Report: implementation of recommendations that was due to take place on 30th January 2018. It was noted that the Review Panel had met with the recently appointed Children's Commissioner and was also due to meet with various stakeholders as a result of its work. |
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Item 9 08/01/18 | 11. Independent Review of Education The Panel noted a letter from the Minister for Education regarding the 2011 consultation Learning for tomorrow's world'. The Panel agreed that it would not take any further action at this time and agreed to place the issue within its legacy report. | AH |
Item 10 08/01/18 | 12. Bullying in Education The Panel noted that evidence it had received in relation to bullying in the Education Department had been submitted to the independent review of bullying and harassment that was being carried out into the States of Jersey. The Panel agreed that it would monitor any recommendations arising from the review and agreed to place it in its legacy report. | AH |
Item 11 08/01/18 | 13. Immigration (Jersey) (Amendment) Order 2017 The Panel noted that a briefing was due to be arranged with the Community and Constitutional Affairs Department and would be confirmed in due course. |
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Item 12 08/01/18 | 14. Quarterly Hearing dates 2018 The Panel noted that a quarterly hearing with the Minister for Education was due to be held on Thursday 29th March. A quarterly hearing with the Minister for Home Affairs was to be arranged in due course. | AH |
Item 14 08/01/18 | 15. Amendment to the Jersey Immigration Rules The Panel noted that information had been requested in relation to the Amendment to the Jersey Immigration Rules and would be circulated upon receipt. |
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| 16. Future Meetings The Panel noted that its next scheduled meeting was due to take place at 1:30pm on Monday 5th February in the Blampied Room, States Building. |
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